Forge Master Naruto
by RavenKnight013
Summary: Naruto has been placed in a coma due to another assassination attempt. While in this near-death state, he speaks to the Shinigami, and learns a powerful new skill. How does Naruto cope? AU. Definately AU.
1. Chapter 1

_FORGEMASTER NARUTO by RavenKnight013 and Darkshot Lestat_

_DISCLAIMER: I, the author, do not own Naruto. Likewise I do not own the concept of the Devil Arms. That belongs to Capcom, as it came from the infamous DMC games. However, I do own the Devil Arm Forging stuff, since as far as I know, it's unique. If I do own anything else in this story, I will let you know. _

_Naruto lay near death. He had been the target of yet another assassination attempt by a misguided ninja. Unfortunately, his would-be killer had managed to wound him badly. So Naruto had been rushed to the hospital and placed in intensive care, looked after by his personal doctor by order of the Hokage. This is where the story begins…_

_Chapter 1_

_Naruto looked around at the emptiness around him. It was a perfect void, nothing but an empty black space as far as he could see. __How in the hell did I end up here,_ wondered the teen. The last thing he remembered was trying to escape the assassin who, yet again, tried to kill him. Remembering that made him sad. What had he done that was so wrong? Yeah, he pranked people, but it was to make them laugh, or at least, to make other's laugh. And it was the only way he would get attention anyway. A scolding didn't hurt much, after all.

He was yanked out of his musings by the appearance of a very strange figure. Tall, hooded, wearing a demonic mask with horns and such, holding a knife in his mouth and prayer beads in his hand. The figure looked at Naruto, who glared back, unwilling to be intimidated by this over dressed kabuki-theater wanna-be.

"Who are you? And where the hell is this?" demanded the irate teen.

"Child, I am the Shinigami, god of death and re-birth. You have been brought before me to be judged." intoned the creature in a sonorous voice.

"Wait a sec, I'm DEAD," yelped the teen. "I can't die yet, I have too much to do. I have to go meet-" his ranting was cut short by the Shinigami raising his hand.

"Death waits for no one. Soon or late, all are brought before me. But in actuality, you are not dead. Merely a hairsbreadth from it. As you are so close, I can claim you now."

"You heartless bastard! Why now? I swear I'm gonna kick you ass!" yelled the teenj as he took a swing at the Shinigami. After all, he was dead, or the next best thing to it, so what did he have to loose? If he won, forlorn hope that it was, he might be able to live again… Or so Naruto reasoned.

His swing met only air as the figure wavered like a heat mirage, then reappeared to the left of where he was standing before.

"Child, you would fight me, a creation of Kami? You are either incredibly brave, or incredibly stupid. Which is it?" asked the curious demi-divinity

"If I beat you down, then I can live again. That's why I have to win!" yelled the teen as he charged again, only to get caught up by the scruff of his jumpsuit. He was held up in one hand by the power of the creature he had so foolishly challenged. He expected to be ended summarily for his presumption. So it was no surprise that he was shocked to hear laughter from behind him.

"Child, no one had challenged me like that in a long time. So, You want to live that badly huh?"

"Hell yes I do! Why do you think I did this? For grins and chuckles?" demanded the teenager. He was irked that the god of death was laughing at him. _Although,_ he admitted to himself, _in hindsight it was a very stupid thing to do._

"Time has no meaning in my realm, boy. Sit, and I will tell you what you must do to earn your life."

Naruto was released. He immediately spun around and sat, all ears. He had a feeling he wouldn't like what he would hear, but he'd listen anyway.

"Now, first, I am going to explain why the villagers hate you…"

In the Hospital room, the Hokage watched Naruto lay in the bed. The injuries were healing, the doctor was hopeful, but Naruto refused to awaken. Sarutobi wondered why the boy was taking so long to wake. He had never done that before.

The young teen was laying in the bed with his arms over the blankets covering him up to his neck. Sarutobi was about to get up and leave with a heavy heart when something quite strange happened. Naruto's body arched its back and opened its mouth like it was screaming in pain, though no sound came out. The hands clenched on the blanket like it was the only thing holding the boy to life and the vital-sign monitoring devices beeped alarmingly.

Sarutobi watched as strange marks seemed to flow down the boys arm, glyphs and sigils growing and writhing like living things until they stopped, covering his upper arms. A shadowy shape covered the boy, writhing and flexing until it too solidified into a coat covering the arms. Sarutobi watched, mouth dropped open in shock. Such a thing had never happened before. What did it mean?

Naruto opened his eyes and sat up with a groan. Oh, boy was he sore. He looked to his right and saw the Hokage of the village staring at him.

"Hey, old man. What's going on? You look like you've seen a ghost." said the recent coma patient. He flexed his arms, stretching, and saw the coat. He grinned, knowing that the Shinigami had threatened to manifest directly into the world to destroy the vile suits he wore. So, Naruto had told him if he didn't like the clothes, give him some new ones. _It looks like he did that all right. Hm, wonder what else he did to me? _thought Naruto as he got out of the bed. Sarutobi watched as the boy stretched himself out, then reached into a pocket of his trench coat and pulled out a scroll. Opening it, he perused it quickly, then rolled it closed again.

"Naruto? What happened to you," asked the old man as he took in Naruto's new appearance. Black trench coat with crimson piping along it, combat boots where his sandals used to be, semi-baggy cargo pants similar to ANBU in style and a black mesh shirt that threw off silvery highlights as the light hit it.

"I died for a while. Talked to the Shinigami and made a deal." said the teen in a nonchalant manner. The Hokage responded to this by passing out.

Once Naruto had managed to wake the old man up, he demanded to know what had transpired while Naruto was 'dead'. So Naruto recounted what had happened.

--FLASHBACK--

_Naruto listened to the god of death as he told him about being the container of the demon fox who had attacked Konoha all those years ago. He didn't believe it until the creature before him made an obscure gesture with one hand, making the strange tattoo he had glow briefly before pulsing and spitting out a strange fox creature. It growled a bit, shaking it's head vigorously._

"_Now do you believe me, boy? This is the demon fox who resides in you."_

_Naruto looked at the bedraggled creature, who looked purely miserable right now. Acting on an impulse, he moved and began to comfort the forlorn demon. The Shinigami was surprised that he would do that. He had expected the boy to try and kill the beast._

_The fox looked at Naruto and attempted to move away from the lad, but Naruto stopped him. "Why are you trying to run away? What, do you hate me too?" asked Naruto in a hurt voice._

"_Kit, you got it wrong. You should be hating me, not the other way around. I mean, I attacked the village, was the cause of your father dying, and made your life a living hell by being inside you all this time. Why don't you hate me?"_

"_Simple. You looked like you needed a friend, and since the village hates us both, we're not likely to make friends there, so it's you and me, bud. Yeah, you've got some explaining to do, but we can cover that stuff later. We have other things to worry about, like this guy," he said, jerking his thumb in the general direction of the Shinigami._

_Chuckling to himself, he said, "Indeed. Other things to worry about. You want your life back, and by extension, fox, you would get yours back as well. Well. I have no problem with that, but to do so, we have to make a deal. I will return your life to you and grant you a power that has not been loose for many years. In return, you will swear to undertake any jobs I need completed in your world. These jobs will mostly involve killing someone who should be dead many times over, so you will be doing your world a favor if you accept."_

"_What's the mysterious power," asked the suspicious Naruto. He wasn't sure he liked how this deal was going so far._

"_The powers of forging Devil Arms. Not many people have been able to master it. It's a type of alchemy, taking several pieces of something and forging a new item from it. Once the forging is done, then it's yours."_

"_Okay, what do I have to do to earn this power? I mean, you're not just gonna give it to me, after all," said Naruto suspiciously._

_Shinigami nodded. "Quite true. While you are here, you will learn what you need to under my eye. During certain stages of your training, you will face challenges to earn the next step. If you wish to stop at a given step, then you can resume your training later, but it will be better to master as much as possible before you leave this realm.'_

_Naruto thought about it. It sounded like a good deal to him. He'd get the training for this new skill and the necessary materials, presumably. Plus, at the end, he'd get his life back. That was a major plus, so far as he was concerned. So, in the end, his decision was no decision at all._

"_Okay. Bring it on!"_

_For the next four 'months', Naruto was drilled in the basics and fundamentals of his ability. He was tested three times during those four months. He was forced to subdue three guardians. _

_One was a tall warrior who defended the knowledge of making weapons. Once Naruto had defeated that guard, he was entitled to forge himself a new set of weapons. The next guardian was a dragon, a celestial dragon, who guarded the knowledge of defense. Once he had conquered that beast- and that was a pain, said a griping Naruto- Naruto had been allowed to create a set of lightweight armor for himself. _

_The final guard he had been forced to defeat had been himself. He guarded the knowledge of Mastery. Only by defeating himself could he earn the title of Master for himself. It was a laborious process, but in the end, he did it. After he had achieved mastery, the Shinigami stood before him again, grinning. Now, that wasn't unusual, as he always looked like he was smiling because of the mask._

"_Congratulations. You have attained the rank of Master in the Devil Arm Forging Arts," he said as Naruto picked up his coat and put it on. The boy was sturdy. Even though only a few heartbeats had happened in the world of the living, four months of continuous work had helped his mental self toughen up._

"_Thanks. This has been tough, but worth it… I think," said Naruto._

"_What! After all this time you don't know if it's…" the Shinigami trailed off seeing the smirk on his young apprentices face. "And just what is that smirk for, brat?"_

"_Heh. I can even get a rise out of you now. That's great," said Naruto, his smirk growing into a full-blown smile._

"_Brat," he muttered. _Why, oh why, did I agree to spare his life? Oh yeah, I remember now…_ he thought to himself. "Well, you have mastered all the training I have to give you. Take this pendant as a mark of mastery. Wear it with pride."_

_The great death god handed Naruto a pendant. It was a piece of obsidian engraved with two celestial dragon's spiraling around an ornate sword. On the back, it had the words Naruto Uzumaki, 13__th__ master of the Devil Arms Forge. _

"_This pendant will allow you to gather the materials required for the forging. As I explained, you forge weapons out of rogue demons. Once you defeat them, you can harvest the energy and vital materials easily. After that, transmute them into the desired weapon. The demon determines the power and element of the weapon."_

"_I understand, Master Shinigami. Once I'm established back in Konoha, I'll harvest some materials. After that, I'm sure you're gonna be sending me assignments, so I'll work them in around my ninja missions. Deal?" he asked the deity, offering his hand. _

_The shinigami nodded his cowl covered head. And that was the end of Naruto's training under the feared God of Death._

--FLASHBACK ENDS--

Sarutobilistened to the list of Naruto's exploits while under the tutelage of the Shinigami. Frankly he was astounded. He even had the proof that it was not a strange hallucination on Naruto's part when he pulled the pendant out from under his strange shirt.

"So, what will you do now," he asked.

"Well, I'm going to go home and gather up the materials needed to forge myself a weapon or two. You have me on a genin team, right?" seeing the old man's nod, he asked, "Who are they? I hope I can get along with them."

"I was planning on putting you with Kiba and Shino. Your Sensei would be Kakashi Hatake."

"Alright. I can deal with them. Two outcasts and a brash one on the same team huh? Well, that's okay. I don't know Kakashi, so he's the wildcard here…" murmured the blonde demon vessel. _He has changed,_ thought the aged leader, _before he never thought much, or never showed how much he thought. This will be interesting to see._

A/N: Well, Naruto's on his way. How will things play out for our intrepid new Forgemaster? Only time, and I, can tell. But I won't. Not even for a cookie. You could go ask Time if you wanted, but I doubt you'd get anywhere...


	2. Chapter 2

FORGEMASTER NARUTO by RavenKnight013 and Darkshot Lestat

DISCLAIMER: I, the author, do not own Naruto. Likewise I do not own the concept of the Devil Arms. That belongs to Capcom, as it came from the infamous DMC games. However, I do own the Devil Arm Forging stuff, since as far as I know, it's unique. If I do own anything else in this story, I will let you know.

Chapter 2

Naruto sat on his couch in his apartment. He had made back with no troubles, most of the people paid him no mind. Once he had come back, he had hung his coat on the hook near the door. Moving to his room, he had seen that Shinigami had followed through on his threat, as the orange jumpsuits he had worn were all reduced to very small pieces on the floor. Hanging up were several sets of clothes that he had forged in the death-gods realm.

He was happy about that. These things had a greatly superior defensive property than the jumpsuits. After all, he had mused, it was an uncommon thing that could punch through dragon scales.

After he had made some supper for himself and eaten it, he had moved back to the living room, where he currently was. Looking at his sword, he thought back to when he had forged it out of an Iron Demons bones and vital energy. It was a superior blade, no doubt about that. He could probably sell it for a good bit of pocket change, but he didn't really want to do that. Looking around, he saw the weapon rack that was mostly empty, crying out for weapons to hold.

Smiling, he obliged it's request, hanging the sword up. He had a different set of properties in mind, and since his particular weapons were all forged in the same style, there was no real way for anyone but him to tell them apart until he hit someone with them… All in all, a win-win for Naruto.

Standing in the middle of the room, Naruto took the pendant out of his shirt and made a lateral step in reality. This put him in the borderlands between the world of the demons and his own world.

He was happy that the Shinigami had given him the pendant. It had taken him right to the place he wanted to go to, the realm of poison demons. Walking through the place, filled with a miasmic atmosphere, he was happier than ever he had the pendant. It protected him from inimical environments while in the borderlands.

Now all he had to do was find a poison demon he could defeat. Shouldn't be too hard. Here he had several abilities he didn't have in the world he originally came from. Calling on his pendant, he brought out a large sword, heavy bladed with a guard for the hilt extending off of the hand-guard. His favorite weapon for harvesting materials, it was imbued with the sacred power of the Guardian of Weapons he had defeated.

Moving around, keeping his eyes open since he was human and thus fair game for any demon he encountered, he searched. He searched for three hours without finding anything at all, when out of the roiling mist loomed a large creature.

Tal, broad shouldered, covered with spikes dripping nasty ichors from the razor sharp points and a lashing tail to round out the image. Fanged muzzle and malevolent red eyes, along with a livid purple-red tattoo on his forearm showed it to be the leader of the Poison demons here. _Aw, crap_ thought Naruto, _why did HE show up? He doesn't do that as a rule…_ But, rule or not, here he was.

"Dokukage for the realm of poison, why are you here?" asked Naruto. Not knowing his actual title, he decided to settle for Poison Shadow, since that was one he could relate to, sort of.

"Whelp. You come here, why?" hissed the creature in a very stilted fashion. It was apparently having some trouble forming the words. Not surprising really, considering that the creature didn't have a humans face or mouth.

"I have come here on my authority as a Devil Arms Forgemaster. I have come to claim materials for the Forge, and thus you cannot deny me." stated Naruto calmly. He knew that was the truth. Any leader of the demon realms would get his head mounted on a plate for that.

It hissed in frustration, then smirked. "Fine. You come for materials for great Forge. You fight me. You win, you get materials, all you need. You lose, I get corpse forever. Deal?" it offered. Naruto had expected something along those lines. _Same old song and dance… Why can't they be original, challenge me to a riddle contest or something? But nooooo, they want to have a fight… figures._ thought Naruto, sighing a bit.

"Before I agree, we will set terms. Victory is determined in one of these ways: The First way is a kill. If one of us kills the other, obviously he wins. The second way is a forfeiture. If one makes the other give up, he is declared the winner. The third way is to completely disable the opponent. If they can't fight, they are declared the loser. Two, it is a strictly ONE-ON-ONE fight," he said, stressing that last part. He remembered the Iron Demon taking advantage of the fact he had forgotten that to call in subordinates to help. "Deal?"

The demon looked a bit put out. He had hoped to overwhelm the whelp with low ranked demons and win that way. "Fine. Deal. We fight now!" it said, leaping at Naruto.

Naruto narrowed his eyes and rolled under the leap, avoiding the lashing tail as well. The tail hit the ground and left a deep divot there. Naruto would have to avoid that tail if he wanted to live.

Taking a firm grip on his sword, he swung it in a lateral swipe, hoping to injure the demon. It hopped back to avoid that, and leaped back in to press its attack. It didn't see Naruto pull a kunai knife out of his holster and he barely saw the throw. Naruto's throw was deliberately aimed at the head, hoping to draw blood to blind him. He hadn't anticipated the desperate dodge the creature would try, and instead of making the creature bleed like he wanted, the Kunai knife hit the ridge of hardened bone below the eye and deflected- right up and into the eye that the beast didn't want to loose.

Roaring in pain, blinded on one side and enraged that he had been injured at all. After all, an injured demon was a demon marked for extermination. He rushed at the youthful forgemaster in a blind fury. Bowling him over, the scene froze.

The demon looked at Naruto. Naruto looked at the demon. Neither blinked for what seemed an eternity, then both of them coughed up blood. The demon leader looked down his chest, to where the sword the boy wielded was embedded in his chest. He knew that it was over for him. He had lost his cool, and paid the price for that. His claws were embedded in the boys chest and shoulder. Rolling off the teen, he collapsed. Naruto struggled for breath for a bit, then heaved himself to his feet.

Looking at the demon, he said, "Looks like I won, huh?"

The demon gave off a rattling chuckle. "Yeah, kid, you won. You've earned your mastery of the Poison realm. Hear that, Shinigami, you prick? He's won it!" he yelled out.

"I hear you, leader of the Poison Demons. My apprentice has earned his right to forge poison demon arms." said the Shinigami, appearing out of the mist. Floating over to Naruto, he observed the boy being healed by the Kyuubi. Shinigami looked at the fallen leader, who beckoned Naruto over. "Boy, you've killed me, so give me this last thing, eh? Make me into a devil arm. I swear I will never fail… you… boy…" gasped the demon as his body gave out at last.

Naruto bowed his head, then as Shinigami had taught him, focused his will and snared the fleeing essence of the demon lord. Holding it and keeping it nearby, Naruto removed the fangs and the bones of the demon lord. Once he had the required material, he focused on what he wanted. Another sword. Slim bladed katana with a guard for the hilt as well as the normal hand guard. As it formed, he got a surprise. The surprise was that a second one formed as well.

Gleaming a pure silvery color, they were immediately comfortable in his hand. Fashioning a carrier for the two blades, he rested them at the small of his back, blades resting with them forming an x- shape, points down for ease of drawing.

Shinigami nodded his head. His apprentice continued and had fashioned himself a pair of fine blades. Though judging from his expression when the second one formed, it had been unintentional.

"Congratulations, Naruto. You have earned the right to forge poison- based Devil Arms. Even ones forged from the leader of the realm… not bad." said the Shinigami.

Naruto simply nodded. It had been what he had been after, coming here. Although he hadn't expected to earn the right by beating the leader of the realm. That granted certain privileges that weren't available normally. He had the right to the repository of this realm now, so he didn't have to hunt the normal rogues. It was a big benefit.

"Okay. I got what I wanted here. After I'm healed, I'm heading home to learn what these can do and then sleep. Talk to you later, Master Shinigami." he said as he took a lateral step to the right in reality to get home again. The Shinigami just laughed at his apprentice and began looking around for the next Lord of this realm to inform him of Naruto's special status.

Back in his apartment, Naruto examined his weapons. It seemed that they secreted various poisons, depending on his desires. He could do a corrosive nerve poison, painful and deadly, or he could make a paralyzing agent that immobilized his target. In the hilt of the sword was a repository of anti-toxins that formed when the envenoming happened.

Naruto was happy with the swords. Slipping them back into their sheaths, he hung them up near the iron sword he had forged in training. After making sure that the holster for the swords was sturdy enough to hold up with them hanging on the wall, he realized that there were two empty slots in the holster. So, he figured, why not go and fill them?

Strapping the holster around himself once again, he settled the weight of the two swords comfortably on his back once more. Thinking for a bit, he decided to visit two realms to gather materials from, fire and lightning.

After he had done that, defeating two rogues from the Realm of Fire and the realm of Lightning, he had four swords he would use dependably. Once more taking the holster off and hanging up, he saw the four swords pulse a bit with power, then settle down.

Shrugging a bit, he went to bed. Tomorrow he had to meet his team and sensei.

Arriving at the Academy in plenty of time, Naruto moved over to his teacher, Iruka. He respected Iruka for taking this job. Kami knew that it was hard, making sure his students were prepared for the rigors of the job they had chosen. It didn't help that they were so young.

Still, Iruka did the best he could, and for that, Naruto gave him respect. "Hey, master Iruka. How are you today?" asked the teen.

Iruka was shocked at the change in Naruto. He had been there when he was almost killed and had rushed him to the hospital. His appearance had changed overnight, drastically. His clothes were much different, and in much better taste in Iruka's opinion. Orange jumpsuits were not good ninja clothing. And his eyes showed a new maturity. Iruka was speechless for a second, then sputtered, "Naruto! What happened to you?"

"What do you.. Oh. Never mind. My new look and all. Well, after I was released from the hospital I had some time to think, and I decided to really focus. So I acquired the clothes and the rest of my gear. Now here I am, new and improved." he said, giving a cheerful smile to his long-time sensei.

"Well, I would have to agree with you… Still, are you sure you're ready for this? You were almost killed, after all." Iruka asked in concern. He didn't want Naruto more hurt. Any more and the poor boy might break.

"Yeah. It's what I always wanted to be, after all. No worries, master Iruka. It'll be fine. Trust me." he said, never losing the cheerful smile. Waving goodbye, he moved to his seat to await the rest of the students. Draping his long coat over the back of his chair, he sat at the back of the class. His bare arms revealed several scars, some deep and livid, others faded almost to non-existence. His gloved hands gave off the same glitter as his shirt and his face gave no clue as to what he was thinking. Iruka wondered where he had gotten the swords. Just by the hilt, he could tell that they were superior examples of a master smith's craft.

Watching as more of his students came in, he waited for someone to notice Naruto in the back. Several people seemed to glance at him, but they paid him no mind. Iruka wondered why that was. It was common knowledge that Naruto had failed the graduation exercise, after all. Finally, someone decided to ask. That one was Sasuke Uchiha, the current number one rookie of this years graduating class.

"Hey, dobe. Why are you here? This class is for _graduates_, after all. And seeing as how you failed miserably, _again_, you have no business here." said a smirking Sasuke. Naruto simply looked back with a level glance, then reached into a pocket and showed him the headband that marked a graduate student and shinobi of Konoha.

Iruka knew where he had gotten that. He had given it to him after defeating Mizuki so easily. It was after that that Naruto was struck by the assassin who had almost killed him.

"Sasuke, go play with your fan-girls. I don't feel like wasting the energy dealing with you _and_ your ego."

"humph. Whatever, dobe. Where'd you get the swords? Those are too good for you. I think I'll take 'em. At least I can do justice with them." said Sasuke, making an ill-advised attempt to steal the weapons from Naruto. Before Iruka could intervene, Naruto was out of his chair with one sword resting against the arrogant asses throat. A small trickle of blood ran down his throat, indicating that Naruto was pressing hard enough to break the skin. Any more and Naruto might kill the boy.

"Naruto, stand down! Now!" bellowed Iruka.

"Fine. I got my hit in anyway, and that's all that matters, really." smirked Naruto. He sheathed his sword, grabbed his coat and moved to another seat. Sasuke stood there still, his eyes wide.

"Sasuke, go sit down… Sasuke!" said Iruka.

"No, he can't, master Iruka. Unless he gets the antidote, he'll stand there all day long, like a statue. Although why anyone would want a statue of him is beyond me…" said Naruto.

"Do you have the… antidote…" said Iruka as Naruto reached into a pocket and pulled out a small vial of some colorless liquid. Looking at it for a second, Naruto nodded and tossed it to Iruka and said "Make him drink that. He'll be fine in a little bit."

Indeed, it went as Naruto predicted. After Sasuke drank the liquid, he made a face at the vile taste and moved stiffly to his seat, wearing a fierce scowl for all the class to see.

"Now that the side business has been dealt with, class, let's go over your team assignments," said Iruka as he pulled out his clipboard.

Quickly running through who was on what team along with which sensei, Naruto was unsurprised to see that Sakura was happy as a pig in mud that she was on Sasuke's team. Hinata Hyuga was also on that team, which made Naruto frown. Sasuke would be his usual self and make her situation worse, Naruto felt it in his bones.

He resolved to keep an eye on her, making sure that she was alright. Well, he would as missions permitted, anyway. He had his own team to worry about as well. Once the teams were called and their sensei's took them away, he was left with Shino Aburame and Kiba Inuzuka. With Kiba was a small dog who he introduced as Akamaru.

Naruto sat with them around a small table, just getting to know them a little better. In his day's at the Academy, he had little to do with either of them. Shino was quiet, like always, but he did partake in the conversation. Kiba was loud and boisterous. Him and Naruto talked about previous pranks they had pulled. They also mentioned the punishment that they had received for those pranks. Kiba conceded the field when Naruto brought up the one where he had painted the Monuments face. Shino listened in astonishment to the things his teammates had gotten up to in their somewhat misspent youth.

They were waiting for their sensei- still, after three hours of waiting. Naruto was getting fed up with this, so he rigged a trap for his sensei. Opening the door, he rigged an eraser that had been used on the last class. That wasn't all, though. He also pulled two tags from his pouch. These he placed on the left and right halves of the door. And then he sat back to wait.

Soon after he had completed these preparations, their sensei graced them with his presence. Opening the door and sticking his head in at the same time, the masked jonin with silver hair was hit in the head by the chalk-dusted eraser. He blinked and stepped in, whereupon Naruto looked right at him and said, "Boom, sensei."

"Huh," asked the jonin cleverly.

"Look behind you." was the answer he received. Doing so, he saw what looked like two exploding tags, except these simply said boom on them. Turning back to his new students, he said, "Who rigged that?"

Naruto raised his hand unabashedly. "You were late. If this had been a real mission, you would either be dead or have the enemy be alerted to your presence by the explosion. Thus you would either fail the mission and/or lose not just your life, but your comrades as well."

Kakashi nodded slowly. "That is true. Though this IS friendly territory-"

"No such thing," interrupted Naruto bluntly.

"Huh?" asked Kakashi once again.

"Simple. Friendly territory is an illusion. There is no such thing in reality. That's one thing I learned here." said Naruto with quiet conviction.

"Here at the academy?" asked Kakashi curiously. If that was what Iruka had been teaching them, he'd be sure to report that to the Hokage, quick fast and in a hurry.

"No, here as in Konoha village itself. I don't feel like dragging out my sob story, so I'll just leave it at that. Oh, and Master? If you're late again, I'll have to punish you." said Naruto in a completely serious tone of voice, as if Kakashi would be wise to accept it.

Kakashi was even more surprised when his teammates nodded their heads in total agreement. _What type of nightmare team has the Hokage given me here?_ he wondered. "Yes, well. If we're done with the posturing, we could go to the roof and have our first team meeting. Or we could stay here all day and not get anywhere. Which is it?" he asked the three genins.

He got his answer when Naruto walked up to him, looked him coolly in the eye, then walked past him out the door, disappearing down the hallway to the stairwell. Kiba and Shino quickly followed suit.

_What have I been handed here?_ wondered Kakashi. _Does Kami hate me or something?_ Somewhere in the celestial realms, Kami was dealing with the most baneful thing in existence, paperwork, when he sneezed. _Hrm, someone's talking about me, apparently. Oh, well. Back to the paperwork…_

On the roof, team seven was having it's first team meeting. Kakashi had arrived last, but it was quick enough that Naruto wouldn't 'punish' him for it. Kakashi wasn't worried about that, particularly. He was looking forward to what Naruto would try and pull, though. It was good to test someone like that. So far Kakashi had been given many teams to train, but each of them had ultimately failed his test.

None of the others had stood up to him being late, either. So, either this team would be the first to pass, or he just had some gutsy genin this time around. He hoped that this team would work out. Well, good feeling about this group or not, if they failed his test, that was that…

Sitting down and clearing his mind of thought, he looked at his team of genin. The one with the red marks and the dog on his head would be an Inuzuka, by Kami. He knew about them quiet well. That left the quiet one with shades, and the blond with whisker marks. The blond was, whisker marks aside, almost a duplicate of the Fourth Hokage. So that was Naruto. Then the one with the large coat and shades was the Aburame. So, to test his theory he had them introduce themselves.

Yeah, he was right he thought as he listened to Kiba list his likes and dislikes, quickly followed by Naruto's and Shino's. He was busy examining the blonds weapons- _four swords? _wondered Kakashi. _why four swords? And where did he get them?_- when the owner of the weapons snapped his fingers in front of Kakashi's single exposed eye. Snapping back to reality, he saw his team looking at him with annoyed expressions on their faces, even Shino looked irked at his lack of attention.

"Sorry, what was that?"

"Grrr. Sensei, take your head out of La-la land and focus for a little bit, please? This _is_ our first team meeting, after all. We were wondering what we were doing next." said an irate Naruto. He saw the direction of Kakashi's gaze, and knew what he was wondering. _Where had an orphan, and the demon-child to boot, gotten _four_ high-quality swords? Heh. Wouldn't he be some surprised to know that _I _made these weapons…_

Kakashi smiled a bit, his exposed eye forming a U shape. "We're going to take your genin field test. MY test is a bit different than the one you got at the academy. So, to that end, we will call it good for the day. Meet me at training ground seven at Nine AM tomorrow morning. And don't eat breakfast, got that?" he said.

"Why not?" demanded Naruto.

"Simple. If you eat, then you run the major risk of puking, and I don't want you puking on me. That would make your punishment worse." said Kakashi in an even tone.

"Whatever you say, sensei. Remember, be on time, or YOU get punished." admonished the genin named Naruto.

Kakashi just sighed. Why, oh why, did he accept this assignment?

A/N: Well. Here's the second chapter, and Kakashi's not having a good day, apparently. Wonder why that is… well, I mean, it's not every Jonin sensei who has a team that threatens to punish the teacher, after all. What's that I hear? Why didn't he punish them for that? You'd have to ask him that. Even I don't know why… maybe he just liked their pluck. It's a mystery.


	3. Chapter 3

FORGEMASTER NARUTO by RavenKnight013 and Darkshot Lestat

DISCLAIMER: I, the author, do not own Naruto. Likewise I do not own the concept of the Devil Arms. That belongs to Capcom, as it came from the infamous DMC games. However, I do own the Devil Arm Forging stuff, since as far as I know, it's unique. If I do own anything else in this story, I will let you know.

Chapter 3

The next day, after getting an adequate amount of rest, Naruto was ready to face the test. But before he did that, he had a question he wanted to ask someone. Thinking of his pendant, he took a lateral step left in reality and wound up in that same timeless realm where the Shinigami rested from his eternal labor.

Looking up at the figure, he smiled and said, "Good morning, Master Shinigami. How are you today?" in a gratingly cheerful voice that he knew the Death-god hated.

"Brat. I should rend your soul for that. What do you want?" asked the irritated death god.

"Well, I'm on a genin team, and I'm a forge master now and all. I was wondering if there were any restrictions on what I did with the weapons after I forged them."

"Nope. After you create them, that's it. They become yours, so you could give them away, sell them, or even create a really weird statue out of them if you wanted. Why?"

"Well, I was just gonna make a gift of a weapon to my teammates if we passed, that's all. I can say I found them or something. Anyway, that's only if we pass. But, I gotta go, I have one last test before I can become a fully-functional field genin. Later, Master Shinigami!" said the cheerful teen as he stepped right in reality, returning to his own world once again.

"See you later, Naruto. Good luck," said the powerful divinity softly as he went back to sorting souls into heaven, hell and snack piles.

Back in the world of the living, Naruto stretched himself out and moved over to his equipment rack. Putting on the sheathes for the four swords, he adjusted it to rest comfortably on his back, then hooked some scroll cases to the sides. They weren't likely to get hit there, and stored there, they were hidden from any opportunistic pickpockets.

He had decided last night to treat this as a full field mission, meaning he packed the full kit in scrolls, including basic meds and rations. Spare weapons went into another, while a bedroll, small tent and spare cash occupied a third. He was happy that he had found the sealing scrolls.

Once he had gotten some of them, he had put his kit, several kits actually, together and stored them in scrolls. This made it much easier to carry and use. The medic and rations scroll went on the left side, the weapons scroll went on the right, and the living arrangements scroll rested above the sword holsters. Sure, he'd need a teammate to get that one, but if he did that, it would be out of the way.

Moving quickly once his gear was stored away, he arrived at Training Ground Seven two hours early. Since he didn't have to be anywhere, he sat down and meditated.

In the Hokage's office, Kakashi was meeting with his esteemed leader. He had a couple questions for old Sarutobi. Like where the boy had developed the smart mouth and tough attitude. Or where he had gotten those blades. Even just by the hilt, they were high-quality and valuable. He had heard about what happened in the Academy from rumors at first, and had checked with iruka.

He had gotten a detailed account of events, including opinion and interpretation from the Chunin instructor. He had wondered about the poison Naruto had used, where it had come from and what it was. So he had decided to ask the Hokage.

Well, Sarutobi was old, but he wasn't stupid. He knew that Kakashi would come to him for information after seeing Naruto deal rather harshly with his jonin instructor. _Scrying crystals are wonderful things,_ thought Sarutobi. He listened to Kakashi as he pondered how much to tell the man.

Kakashi saw the abstracted look on his leaders face. He thought the Hokage would tell him the information, given that he was Naruto's jonin sensei. If he knew, he could make accurate plans based on the information.

"Kakashi, what I am going to tell you falls under the S-class law that I made before, about Naruto's 'tenant'. You remember the law, and it's penalties?" asked the Hokage.

Kakashi knew what he was talking about. He knew that Naruto was the container for the nine tailed fox demon, but that was no matter. He had grown up here in Konoha, he had proven his loyalty to Konoha by defeating Mizuki, and had let him live to boot. All of that spelled 'Not a Demon' to Kakashi. Besides, he liked the boy for himself, though he wouldn't admit it. He did have his pride, after all…

"I understand, Master. What is it?" asked the intrigued Kakashi.

"Well, you remember that he was placed in a coma the night he defeated Mizuki, right? Well, this is what he told me when he woke…" began the Hokage, deciding to tell all.

In Training Ground Seven, Naruto was brought out of his meditating by the arrival of Kiba and Akamaru. The dog barked joyfully, running over to Naruto, begging for a treat with the dreaded 'puppy-dog eyes'. Naruto looked at Kiba to make sure it was alright, and when he got the nod to go ahead, he laughingly pulled out a doggy treat for the eager pup.

Kiba was happy that Naruto had brought that along with him for Akamaru. Not many people would have done that, after all. He sat next to Naruto to await their remaining teammates.

"Ready for this, Kiba?" asked Naruto.

"Of course. Me and Akamaru will ace this test. Right, Akamaru?" the wild-haired lad asked his oldest partner, who looked up briefly from his treat, barked affirmatively, then attacked the chewy bone again.

"I believe you, Kiba. Of course, it would go easier with teamwork, right? And is that your stomach rumbling, or is there a stray bear running loose?" he asked teasingly.

Kiba groaned. He hadn't thought it was that loud. "Sorry, I'm just hungry. Why isn't your stomach rumbling?" he asked curiously.

"Easy. I've had a light snack that will have been digested by the time Kakashi shows up. If you eat one now, it'll be gone quickly." explained Naruto.

"Really? Aw, dammit. Where the hell am I gonna get one now?" Kiba asked plaintively. He was hungry, dammit! He wanted food! Sighing a bit, Naruto reached into his coat and drew a scroll out, red on the ends and tied with a silk cord. Untying it, he unrolled it a ways and _poof_, there was a small pouch there. Taking it up, Naruto tossed it to the hungry Inuzuka.

"What's this?" he asked, looking in. Seeing several crunchy bars inside, he hungrily pulled some out and devoured them. Naruto laughed at his teammates reaction. It was a good thing he had several more snacks handy in the scroll, otherwise he'd be in trouble.

"Where'd you get that?" asked Kiba, clearing the crumbs from himself after he had eaten three bars. He found things much more bearable with the high-energy bars inside him.

"Heh. Sealing Scrolls are wonderful things. I have three on me right now. One is replacement weapons and suchlike. Another is eats and medical gear. The last is a tent and bedroll. All the basic kit we were taught at the Academy, and no bulky backpack to hold it all… How much more convenient can you get, really?" asked Naruto, somewhat rhetorically.

Kiba was shocked that he had brought the full kit. "Why'd you bring the full kit, dude? We're right here in the village."

"For now, Kiba. There's no guarantee that we're staying here, after all. If I brought it all for nothing, then so be it. At least I was prepared in case we had to leave." stated Naruto calmly. Kiba was again shocked, this time at himself for not realizing the same thing. Seeing the look, Naruto said, "Don't worry, in the scrolls, I have enough for three people, in case my team forgot theirs, or had incomplete kits."

Seeing Naruto close his eyes and begin meditating again, Kiba sighed. Akamaru, seeing the boy an unsuspecting target, moved over and lifted his leg. He stopped when he heard the boy who smelled like foxes and gave good treats say, "Akamaru, if you follow through with that, I will remove important bits. Without anesthetics first. And I would think you'd like to be a father someday, right?" Akamaru, hearing that and understanding it totally, quickly rethought his plans. He found a bush, some ways away from Naruto, before dealing with the pressing business.

Kiba just laughed at his partners hang-dog expression.

In the Hokage's office, Kakashi was stunned by what he had heard. _Naruto_ had forged those works of art? Himself? _And_ he had learned how under the direction of the _Shinigami?!_ He had never been quite as stunned as he was now.

"Hokage, sir, I don't…" he trailed off, completely confused.

"Be at ease, Kakashi. His loyalty to Konoha is assured. Nothing about him has changed aside from his outlook on life and he has gained a new ability. That is all. He is a proud Shinobi of this village, remember?"

"Yes, Lord Hokage. He is that. And he is incredibly blunt, if I may say so. He threatened to punish me if I was late again. And what's more, his teammates agreed with him, right in front of me!" said Kakashi, laughing a bit as he remembered.

The Hokage also laughed. He didn't think Naruto would go too far in his punishments, but better safe than sorry. So he felt compelled to warn Kakashi, "In that case, shouldn't you be seeing to your students? You're already an hour late as it is, and Training Ground Seven is a ways away from the tower, if I recall right." he said, with a wicked twinkle in his eye. Kakashi's eye widened, then he hurriedly bid his leader goodbye as he leapt out of the window. Sarutobi let out a heartfelt laugh at the panic the jonin displayed.

Waiting a bit, he pulled out his scrying crystal and watched.

Naruto was fuming. He had warned Kakashi to avoid being late, and here an hour and a half had gone by beyond when he told them to show up. "Master Kakasi better have a good reason for this," he said to his team. They nodded in agreement.

Soon after that, their sensei showed up, crouching in a tree out of convenient punching range. He looked at his team of genin, and saw them united in their irritation for his tardiness.

"Well, sensei? Why are you late?" asked Naruto in a deceptively calm voice. Like the calm right before a massive tsunami wave blasted through.

"Eh heh, well, I got lost on the road of life this morning and…" he trailed off, seeing that they didn't buy it. No way was he going to announce to all three that he had been talking to the hokage about Naruto.

"Sure ya did, sensei. And I've got some nice beachfront property to sell you, right here in Konoha…" snarked Naruto. If Sensei wouldn't tell the truth, he would be punished.

"Well, let's get on with the test, shall we?" asked Kakashi. Hopping down from his tree, he moved over to the three young ninja. Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out two bells. The three genin wondered what the bells were for. He tied them to his belt, and then pulled out two meal boxes, fresh and ready to eat. Putting these on two of the three posts that were placed there, he then turned to the genins.

"Okay. You have until noon to take these bells from me. Two of you will get the bells and the meals. The other will be tied to the post until the meal is done and will be sent back to the academy. Come at me with the intent to kill, otherwise you will fail. Any questions?"

"Yeah," said Naruto. "Why are you trying to divide the team up already? It doesn't make much sense. After all, the whole point of having a team is to use teamwork, right? And here you stand, trying to make us forget that fact."

Kakashi was surprised. He didn't think they would see that. "Irrigardless of my motives, my rules are absolute. Got that? If there are no more questions, begin!" he cried, disappearing in a cloud of smoke.

The three genins quickly hid themselves as well. Naruto had kept track of where his teammates went, and made his way over to them. Finding Kiba first, he crouched there and said, "Hey, Kiba, I've got a plan for this…"

Twenty minutes later, Kakashi was reading his little orange book, supremely unconcerned. Well, he was until Kiba and Shino appeared. Sighing, he put the book away to deal with the overconfident genins. "Where's Naruto? Didn't want to work together, in spite of his talk about teamwork?" he taunted, hoping to get a rise out of them.

Shino looked back calmly. "Naruto is not necessary here. We are more than enough." Silently, he hoped Naruto would forgive him for that. It was all part of the plan, after all.

"Oh, confident, aren't we? Well, that's alright. I'll fix that quickly enough," said Kakashi, though he couldn't help but wonder where Naruto really was. It didn't make any sense at all. He figured that he'd be right up front, charging in wildly.

What he didn't know was that Kiba was holding Naruto. Naruto had become a kunai, and was waiting for his chance to strike. Seeing Kakashi drop into a taijutsu stance, Kiba and Shino both attacked. Kiba using his superior speed and agility ran in close and took a swipe at him with the kunai he held in hand.

Kakashi ducked the swipe and kicked him back. As Kiba was flying back, he threw the kunai, which Kakashi calmly dodged. His attention was distracted by Shino coming up and taking some swings at him. He was busy dodging and blocking the young Genin when he felt two slashes on the back. Eye widening, he found he was frozen stiff, right where he was, caught in mid-swing. Hearing the bells jingle, he watched as Naruto walked out from behind him and handed his teammates the bells.

Looking back at Kakashi, he smiled. Putting the swords away, he drew a different one. Moving back to Kakashi, he drew the orange book Kakashi had been reading. Flipping it open, he read a few lines, then looked back at Kakashi.

"You do realize that this stuff with corrode your mind, right? So, in the interest of saving whatever of your mind remains, this book has to go," said Naruto with a wicked gleam in his eyes. Kakashi's eye widened as Naruto tossed the book into the air, then slashed it with the sword. Kakashi watched in horror as the small book was slashed into pieces, then even more as those same pieces erupted into flames. And the worst part was the anguished scream couldn't even escape his throat where it was trapped.

"That was for being late. Now then, I'm sure you want to get free of the paralysis that you're stuck in, right? Well, master Kakashi, fortunately for you, I have the antitoxin right here, in a handy syringe. Just inject it like so-" he said, jabbing the sharp needle into Kakashi's arm, "- and soon after, the effects will be counter-acted."

Indeed, it went as Naruto said it would. Kakashi soon regained full use of his limbs. The first thing he did was fall to the ground, crying uncontrollably for his lost book. Naruto gave his partners an I-don't-want-to-believe-this look, then crouched near the sobbing jonin. Patting his back awkwardly, he attempted to comfort the bereaved ninja. "Master, was that book so special?" he asked curiously.

"Yes, it was… It was a super-rare copy, only twenty are in existence and- AND it was an advance order… Now I'll never get to read it…" bawled the Mirror Ninja.

Naruto sweatdropped. All that for a book? Wow, that was… pathetic. Unfortunately, Naruto didn't see the gleam in Kakashi's eye in time. Before he knew what had hit him, he was tied up like a hog ready to be slaughtered. "Well done Naruto. But you still get tied to the stump. And for destroying my book, I might leave you there all day." said Kakashi vindictively.

Kiba and Shino where surprised at Kakashi's abrupt reversal of attitude. One minute he had been a sobbing wreck, the next a triumphant conqueror of his personal bane. Needless to say, they had no intention of leaving Naruto to suffer that fate.

Dragging Naruto bodily to the stump, Kakashi made sure he was securely bound before handing the food boxes to Kiba and Shino. "Eat up guys, we have some training to do while our former teammate gets ready for the Academy again." he said, keeping up the illusion. He wanted to see what they would do. If Kiba did what he thought…

Actually, it was Shino who did something. He walked over to the tied up Naruto and cut him free. Turning back to Kakashi, he said calmly, "You cannot send him back to the academy. Simply put, if you send him back, you would send me back as well." At Kiba's loud agreement, Kakashi smiled.

"Good answer. It's true that to send one back means sending everyone back. And you did work as a team. Congratulations, Team Seven. You have passed my test!" he said cheerfully. Shino smiled happily, while Kiba jumped around like a kid in a candy store. Naruto simply nodded and stretched, loosening up the muscles that had stiffened from being tied up like that.

"Okay, guys, good job. Shino, Kiba, I'll see you guys tomorrow. Naruto, I'd like a word with you, if I may." said Kakashi, getting everyone's attention. Kiba and Shino looked to Naruto, who nodded and waved them off. He'd be fine, of that he was sure.

After the two young shinobi had left, Kakashi looked at Naruto. Naruto returned Kakashi's hairy eyeball with one of his own.

"Master, is there a purpose to keeping me here, or is this for destroying the book?" he asked.

"Actually, I wanted to ask you about the swords you carry."

"What about them? Don't ask where I go them, I won't tell you. Sorry, but that's how it has to be. If that information got out to the village at large, I'd have no rest at all." said Naruto with a scowl.

"I didn't intend to tell the villagers, Naruto. How you received those swords from the Shinigami is your business." said Kakashi, earning him an intense glare.

"Who told you that?" hissed the young blond. "That information is too damn personal to be bandied about!" His glare at his jonin Sensei was fierce enough that Kakashi was glad it was just a look and not a weapon, or he'd be dead.

"Easy, Naruto. Calm down. The Hokage told me after I asked him. He also ordered me, flat out ORDERED me, not to tell anyone else anything about it. I wanted you to know that I know some of the deal, but I was hoping you'd be willing to fill in a bit more. I understand if it's too personal, and I didn't mean to upset you." said Kakashi apologetically.

Naruto fumed for a second, then used willpower to redirect the anger. Punching one of the nearby posts a few times, he worked it out of his system. Once he was done, he turned and sat against the now abused post and said, "what did you want to know, master Kakashi? If I can answer I will."

"Well, I was wondering how it worked, what you could make and so on… kind of a general overview I guess." said Kakashi, wondering if he could learn it.

Naruto knew what Kakashi was wondering, he could just tell. "Unfortunately, Master Kakashi, I doubt you could learn how. Well, anyway. To answer your questions, each forging is unique. You never create the same weapon again, that's the big thing. I can forge most any weapon, so long as I know what it is beforehand. Basically, I hunt and defeat rogue demons from the borderlands between our world and the demons world. Once I defeat them, I harvest their vital energy, maybe some bones and suchlike, and transmute them into the weapon. I forged these swords myself, so you can see my level of skill in this art. After all, I practiced hard for four months to learn this." he said, drawing the lightning blade to show Kakashi what he meant about his skill level.

"Four months? How? I thought you were in a coma for about forty minutes, max?" asked Kakashi, confused as hell.

"True, I was in a coma for that length of time here, but in the Shinigami's realm, it was a long four months, let me tell you. Here, master, take this a minute," he said, passing Kakashi the devil sword he had recently drawn. Kakashi took it, feeling the handgrip and the balance of the sword. It was easy enough to wield, but wrong for him. Standing up, Naruto removed his coat and, holding his arms out wide of his body, said "Attack me. Cut my torso with that sword. I promise, you're in for a surprise."

Kakashi was dubious about this, but he obliged his students request. Taking a stance, he swung the sword in an attack that would have chopped Naruto apart at the level of his floating ribs.

That is, it would have done that had his sword cut through Naruto. What actually happened was the sword stopped like it had hit a brick wall once it made contact with the weird shirt Naruto wore. Naruto grunted at the impact, but took it stoically. He had felt ribs snap at that, but the Kyuubi quickly mended that.

Taking his blade back, he looked it over and noted that the blade was perfectly fine. He also noted that the lightning powers hadn't activated, for which he was thankful. If they had, he would have been in a lot more pain. But, since Kakashi wasn't the designated wielder of the sword, it was just a regular blade in his hands.

"Why did the blade stop? Is that a property of the sword itself?" asked the curious Jonin.

"Nope, that's a property of my shirt. Made out of flexible dragon scales, earned by achieving the second rank of a forgemaster. Good for stopping most any physical attack. Doesn't do too much against certain things, like drowning and suchlike, but it stops most weapons dead. After that, it's mostly just practice with the various types of forging. Anything else?" he asked, wanting to get this over with.

"No, not right now. Thank you for taking the time to explain this to me, Naruto," said Kakashi, bowing to show his respect to a master of his craft. He wondered if Naruto would be willing to make him a weapon or vest like his shirt.

Naruto, for his part, wanted to make up for destroying Kakashi's book, so he in turn asked, "What's your fighting style like? And can I see the vest? I've never had a chance to look at a jonin vest before," he said, giving a plausible reason for the desire to examine the vest. In reality, he just wanted to find out what size vest to make.

"I fight with two short weapons, like kunai for example. Why?" asked Kakashi as he pulled his vest off to show it to Naruto.

Quickly looking it over and noting Kakashi's vest size, he handed it back, saying, "Thanks master. Oh, I was just wondering so I'd know how to back you up in a fight, that's all." he said, inventing yet another reason for the curiosity.

"Ah. I see. Well, if that's all the questions we have for each other, why don't we go back and get some ramen, huh?" asked Kakashi, smiling at his students sudden exuberance. _Some things never change, even with a near-death experience under your belt,_ thought Kakashi.

An hour later, filled with Ramen, Naruto went to see the Hokage to vent his spleen on the man for spilling secrets. That could be so damn dangerous, Naruto didn't even like to think about it.

Arriving a the old man's door, he knocked and, hearing the command to enter, walked in and confronted his oldest mentor. "Okay, old man, spill. Why on Kami's sweet earth did you tell Kakashi what I told you?!" demanded the irate teen.

Sarutobi was a bit taken aback by the lads vehemence, and bemusedly answered, "Naruto, he is your Jonin sensei, and he should know about the abilities you've gained, true?"

"Maybe, so far as my ninja abilities go yeah, but did it never occur to you that I might have wanted some privacy about this? I'm already just about _persona non grata_ as it is to Konoha at large, and this might just be enough to make me Konoha's Most Hated Individual, Ever. Not exactly what I wanted for my birthday, I might add." said Naruto grumpily.

"True enough, Naruto, and I am sorry about this breach of privacy, but I cannot undo what I have done. Now, since you're here, why don't you tell me your impression of the team you are on."

So Naruto did just that, giving facts and impressions to the leader of the village. He also gave his opinion of the other genin teams, based on what he was able to observe at the Academy. And he finished up with the test his team had beaten. And during the course of that, he lamented that he had destroyed such a rare copy of Kakashi's book when the Hokage surprised him.

Reaching into his desk, he pulled out a small orange book, exactly like the one he had destroyed. Looking at the Hokage in shock, he asked, "What's that, old man?"

"It's a replacement for the book you destroyed. Kakashi will recognize it. While he was correct in that it is indeed a super-rare book, and extremely hard to come by, I know the author, and he would not mind me making a copy to give to someone who lost their's so tragically. Though he would be less than impressed with you, my boy, for destroying it so casually." said the old man, with a humorous twinkle in his eyes. Old he may be, but stupid? Never. The day he was truly stupid was the day they buried him in the dirt.

Naruto picked up the slim volume and smiled. With the gifts he intended to make his team, and this, his night was complete. Thanking the Hokage, he left, ignoring the glare of the foul-tempered watchdog- er-hrm, _Secretary_, Naruto mentally corrected himself- before heading home.

Once there, he stepped left again, visiting the Shinigami once more. "Hey, Master. Miss me much?" he asked the snacking death-god. The Shinigami quickly swallowed the screaming soul he had been contentedly munching on and glared at his apprentice.

"What, brat? Don't you have better things to do than bug me all the time?" he asked, in a foul mood. The new poison lord was giving him a hard time. Finally, to shut the mewling beast up, he had to resort to a base threat of unleashing Naruto on him if he kept bugging the death-god. That had sent the cowardly thing scurrying back to it's hole.

"Well, I was hoping you'd do me a favor…" said Naruto in a cajoling manner.

The death god just groaned to himself. Kami hated him. That was the only explanation.

A/N: Hashanah. Kakashi got his precious book obliterated! Hah, take that, pervy-sensei! Seriously, I think Kakashi is bi-polar here. One minute he's totally devastated, the next he's full of piss-and-vinegar. Ooops. Oh well. It all goes good, so far… Well, Team Seven has passed. And Kakashi knows about Naruto's "little" secret. Let's hope the village full of sludge-brained civillians and C²CO ninja's (Those who read Rogue Warrior novels will understand that… If you don't know, I ain't telling…) . Anyway. What is the mysterious favor that Naruto need's the power of the death god for? Is he planning a take-over? Or is that take-out…? I can never remember.


	4. Chapter 4

_DISCLAIMER: I, the author, do not own Naruto. Likewise I do not own the concept of the Devil Arms or Virgil. That belongs to Capcom, as it came from the infamous DMC games. However, I do own the Devil Arm Forging stuff, since as far as I know, it's unique. If I do own anything else in this story, I will let you know. _

_Chapter 4_

_Two real-world hours later, after doing what had become a very long and involved set of forgings for his team, Naruto was done. Wrapping each set of gifts up in silky black cloth that the Shinigami provided, he sighed. The forging process for these things had taken a lot of effort. He had gone to several realms and defeated the leaders there, to save himself a lot of time and effort. The results were the gifts he was preparing to give to his teammates. _

_The Shinigami was shocked. That was a lot of effort to make for others. "Naruto, are you sure you want to do this? That's a lot of time and energy invested here, and you're giving it away?" asked the Death God in some concern._

_Naruto grimaced a bit, thinking of the things he had undergone. Dragon scale shirt or not, he had a bunch of new scars decorating him now, thanks to this insane quest. He only hoped his team was appropriately thankful. And he said as much to his Master, the Shinigami._

_Shinigami nodded his head. When the boy took someone as a friend, he pulled out all the stops, apparently. This was a good quality to have in a friend. Not that the Shinigami knew this from first-hand experience, mind. As a god of death and rebirth, he was not one to make friends easily._

"_Well Master, I'm ready. Thanks again, and see ya later!" said the teen cheerfully. Once again stepping through the boundaries that separated the worlds, he disappeared. Shinigami sighed a bit, knowing that life was going to be complicated for the energetic teenager. Oddly enough, he had affection for the little demon. Imagine that, him being nice to someone! He snorted at himself, then went back to work._

_In the real world, Naruto shook his head. __Oh, my head. That last hit from the Tsuchikage demon really hurt, dammit! Gahh. Well, no rest for the wicked at heart, so on we go._ Smirking at the tone of his own thoughts, he gathered up the parcels and quickly moved to start his round of deliveries.

The first place he stopped at was Kakashi's. Transforming himself as a nondescript deliveryman, he knocked on the door, seeing lights on. That meant that Kakashi was still awake at this hour.

Waiting patiently until Kakashi opened the door, Naruto sighed. It was going to be a long night. Seeing Kakashi without his mask on was a shock. Quickly recovering his mental equilibrium, he said, "Delivery for you, sir." as he handed the shocked Jonin the bundle with his name on it.

"Really? Who sent it?" asked Kakashi as he accepted it_, _feeling the heft of it. It was moderately heavy, and rightly so, thought Naruto, considering what was in that bundle.

Answering the Jonin's question, he replied "No idea, sir. There's no name for the sender, so there's no way to know. Well, I have to be going, no rest for the wicked, right?" he asked with a grin.

"Truly," mused Kakashi as he closed the door softly. Moving over to the coffee table, he opened the bundle. Seeing what it contained, he hurriedly moved back to the door, but the deliveryman was gone, as if he had never existed. _Naruto… thank you._ thought the jonin as he went back to the bundle. There were several vests there, made of what looked like the same substance as Naruto's shirt. Picking one up, he tried it on, finding it to be a perfect fit. Seeing an addition on the back, he quickly deduced that it was a place to hang the two Kodachi blades that were also in the bundle.

It was the last thing that brought a true smile to his face. Lying there, fresh as the day it was printed, was a copy of the Make Out Paradise book that Naruto had destroyed. Flipping it open, he was even more astonished to see that the serial number for it's printing was 00000. Meaning that it was an even rarer advance release. Kakashi sat down numbly, not knowing what to think. All he knew was that he was happy he had taken this team instead of refusing.

Naruto knew that Kakashi would be happy with his gifts. But he still had two teammates to visit. Maintaining his disguise of a deliveryman, he stopped at the Aburame clan house, surprising the one who answered the door. Explaining that he had a delivery for Shino Aburame, the man nodded and went to retrieve him. Returning quickly with the younger Aburame in tow, Shino was amazed to get a parcel, especially at this time of night. Taking the parcel from the man, Shino looked at the tag, noting the tag on it was labeled in handwriting that he would have sworn he'd seen before. Turning back to thank the man, he blinked in surprise to see he was already gone.

Shrugging his shoulders, he moved back into the sitting room where he had been waiting, unable to sleep for some reason. Untying the parcel, he opened it under the curious gaze of his father, who like Shino, widened his eyes seeing the coat there. It was made of a reflective black substance, durable looking with several pocket. Removing his old coat, Shino tried it on and found it to be a perfect fit. 

Settling the weight on his shoulders, he looked at the package again and saw the weapons. Two Manriki-Gusari, weighted whipping chains, the weights sharpened and coated with a earthen enamel. Shino picked up the weapons and wrapped the ends of the chains around his wrist, finding a latch there to secure them. This allowed him to engage enemies outside of immediate melee range, for which he was thankful.

Recalling the strange dream that had awoken him, the youth thought _Naruto, somehow I know you are the mysterious benefactor here. For these gifts, I thank you deeply. _Feeling himself tired all of a sudden, as if whatever had kept him awake had just worn off, he moved back to his room, settling himself down to sleep, not removing either the coat or the weapons, which furled themselves up to prevent him from hurting himself accidentally.

Naruto felt good. He was on his way to the Inuzuka clan house, and he had successfully delivered two of the three gift packages to his team. Moving up to the third and final member's house, he knocked on the door.

Seeing a middle aged woman open the door, he politely asked if Kiba was available. Hearing her very loud bellowing for her son to get out here, Naruto winced before she turned back with a small smile. "Sorry about that. You have to yell loudly around here to get anyone's attention."

"Not a problem, ma'am. After this delivery, I can go home and sleep. It's been a long day today." said the still-disguised Naruto.

"I understand. Oh, look, here's Kiba now." said the woman, wrapping her arm affectionately around her son. Kiba grumbled a bit, looking sleep-deprived. He accepted the package and thanked the man, looking at the tag and seeing no return address.

He looked up to ask the man who had sent it, but found the man already gone. Akamaru barked once to get his attention, then walked back into the house. He knew who that was. That disguise couldn't fool a dog's nose, after all.

Kiba sat down in the lounge area, unwrapping the package. Seeing a long coat, he couldn't help but remember the weird dream he had had before waking up so suddenly. Trying the coat on, he, like Kakashi and Shino, found it to be a great fit. Not taking his eyes off the Kau-Sin-Ke in the package, he unraveled it to discover that there were two such chains in there, sharp and spiky, a perfect complement to his Fang-over-Fang technique.

Hearing his mother's curiosity, he showed her the gifts, telling her that he had no idea who had sent them him, neglecting to mention the strange dream. Akamaru held his peace until Kiba went to his room, where he promptly spilled his little puppy guts.

Kiba's eyes widened at the information that the things had Naruto's scent all over them, and that the one to deliver them had been Naruto himself. He decided that he would have to thank the boy somehow. Soon after he made the decision, he fell asleep alongside Akamaru, not noticing the spikes withdraw into his whipping chain, or Akamaru's wrap itself around his paw and shrink down, looking like a strange bracelet on the little dogs' leg.

Back in his apartment, Naruto was tired, but happy. He thought about getting his team's information. The death god had been irked with him, to say the least.

FLASHBACK

"_What?" roared the irate Shinigami, ironically using Iruka's patented Big-Head technique to get his point across. "You want me to pull three souls, still live souls, here, just so you can ask them some questions? Are you out of your mind?" _

"_Not at all. You're the undisputed master of all things related to the soul, so it should be no trouble at all, right? I mean, if you're not strong enough…" he let his vice trail off. He did this deliberately. He hoped to goad the Shinigami into helping, cause he didn't necessarily want his team to remember or know it was him who was going to be their mysterious benefactor._

_Kakashi would probably figure it out, but there was no avoiding that. Shino and Kiba would be kept in the dark, so that Naruto's secret could stay safe for a while longer. That was the theory anyway._

_Shinigami knew what Naruto was up to. But, his pride didn't allow him to shrug the implied slur to his 'good' name off. Much as he'd like to. So, growling, he sought out the three souls and brought them into his realm, where Naruto could get the information he wanted._

_Shino, Kiba, and Kakashi all had the same reaction on seeing the Shinigami: They screamed like little girls and tried to run away. Not that that tactic worked, because like the Mangekyo's tsukuyomi, Shinigami controlled everything in his realm._

_So, the three ninja all ran in place for a while, huffing and puffing like they had blitz-run a marathon, then turned to see the Shinigami standing behind them still._

_This scenario repeated itself three times before they figured out that running away wouldn't work. That was when Naruto decided to ease their mental pain and get this part over with. He was wasting time, time he could be putting to more constructive uses._

"_Hey, guys. What's going on?" he asked, seeming to appear out of the empty air. He quickly related that they were not dead, simply here to answer some questions. He asked them what weapons would they like, any particular elements, and so forth. He made mental notes about it all, and then told them that they'd forget this ever happened, most likely, but he'd deliver the goods as soon as he was done._

_Sending them back their own bodies with a brush of his power, the Shinigami turned to his apprentice and asked, "Naruto, are you sure about this? That's a lot of work you're setting yourself up for, after all."_

_Naruto nodded in agreement, then said, "Yeah, it's a lot of work, but in the end, it'll be worth it, you wait." And then he moved deeper into the realm, to begin his quest for the forging materials for his friends weapons and armor._

END FLAHBACK

Now, Naruto was still tired, and his head was sore. So, to correct both of those problems, he went to bed to sleep his exertions off.

The next day, at Training Ground Seven, Kiba, Shino and surprisingly Kakashi were all there. They had confirmed a mysterious delivery person had dropped off a bundle at their house, making sure that they got it, and disappearing before thanks could be tendered.

They compared memories of the horrible almost-nightmare where they had seen the Shinigami, and their memories matched up very closely. It was very disturbing, to say the least. Kakashi knew who had graced them with the new equipment, eye-catching, to say the least. His team and himself had drawn attention from many people, shinobi and villager alike.

Several shinobi had asked Kakashi where he had gotten the nifty new stuff, but he said that was a secret for now. If the person who had provided it deemed them worthy, they would be approached and questioned. Otherwise, there was no way to get it.

What's more, it was the truth. Naruto had unequivocally declared he didn't want his abilities to become common knowledge, and now Kakashi saw why. He would never get any peace, because Shinobi and villagers would hound him day and night to make them gear. And what's more, it was doubtful they would pay him either…

Kakashi was pulled out of his reverie by the arrival of his last, wayward student, who looked like he hadn't had sleep for a month. Deep bags under the eye's, drooping lids, a general air of lackadasicality.

"Naruto, what happened to you? Didn't you sleep at all last night?" asked Kakashi in some concern. Naruto waved it of with a tired smile.

"It's no big deal, Master Kakashi. I just had a problem come up that required my attention for a while, that's all. After that, my sleep was spotty at best. Where'd you guys get the gear, anyway?" he asked, doing an admirable job of playing stupid.

He didn't get the answer he wanted, however, when Shino looked at him and raised an eyebrow mockingly. "Naruto, did you really think that we would forget seeing the Shinigami? Or your questions and explanations? Besides, your disguise worked admirably well on a visual level, but Akamaru smelled you, and knew it was you. My only question is, why all the secrecy?" Kiba nodded his agreement, giving a wolfish smile to Naruto, who looked like the fool caught in a squeeze trap with absolutely no way out.

"Erh, um… surprise?" he asked weakly. Seeing that they were not amused, he sighed in defeat and sat down, right where he was. Akamaru walked over to sniff him and say hello, whereupon Naruto pulled out another chewy bone for the energetic little pup.

"Well, guys, it goes a little like this…" said Naruto, launching into his explanation. After his explanation and somewhat rambling monologue, spotted with jaw-dislocating yawns here and there, the two genins looked at their teammate in shock. They were caught completely flat-footed by the fact that he had such an ability under his control. 

Kiba then asked, "So, the dream we had… it wasn't a dream was it? We really saw the Shinigami…" seeing Naruto nod, he shuddered. "Dudes an ugly sucker, ain't he?" Naruto laughed at that, but he was forced to agree.

"Though he's nice enough once you get to know him… as long as you don't piss him off, like I did, over and over again…"

The conversation quickly moved on to the details of their weapons and the abilities they had. Kiba's chain was forged from a Fire Monarchs bones, and it allowed him to whip up nasty fire-based attacks. Shino's weapons where likewise forged from a Monarch demons power, just like Kakashi's. Shino's was forged from Earth, whereas Kakashi was endowed with twin lightning blades. Each one was given to that specific person, unless or until they willed them on to someone else.

For team practice that day, each of them familiarized themselves with the ins-and-outs of their new weapons. Naruto was sparring with Kakashi when he suddenly stopped, feeling eyes and ill-will directed at him. Turning to look, he saw Sasuke standing there, supremely unconcerned and arrogant as always.

"So, loser, ready to give those swords up yet?" asked the arrogant teen. After all, HE was the Uchiha, and as such, had the royal run of the entire village. If he decided he wanted those swords, then by Kami he'd get them.

"Sure thing Sasuke. Why don't you come and take one? Let's just see what will happen." Sasuke smirked, thinking that even the dobe bowed down to the Uchiha clan, the strongest in Konoha.

Striding over the turf as if he had the deed for it, he grabbed one of the swords still in it's sheath. He expected there would be no trouble drawing the thing, but it was apparently stuck. Trying again, he got a surprise. An arc of power erupted off the pommel cap, striking his shoulder.

Crying out in pain and shock, he found his arm hung like an awkward rubber replacement instead of his true arm. Hissing in vexation, he demanded, "What was that?"

"That, my so-arrogant not-friend, was an anti-theft ability that the sword has. Where I got these swords, all of them, I earned them first. You, you just try and take. And the village let's you. Well, fortunately, I'm not the village, and I say you get nothing from me. Now get, before I waste more poison on you."

Sasuke was going to make a scathing retort, but two things stopped him. One was the fact that Naruto's team closed ranks against him, making it a three on one, if it came to a fight. Now this didn't deter Sasuke. He figured he could take all three of them at once. 

The thing that did deter him was the flat stare of Kakashi, and the disapproving look of his own sensei, Kurenai. Seeing there was no way to get the swords right now, he gritted his teeth in frustration. Those blades _would_ be his! Spinning on his heel, he stormed out of the field, holding his arm close to prevent it from flopping around like a landed trout.

Turning to Naruto, Kurenai bowed apologetically to the teenager, and said "I apologize for my students behavior, Naruto. Hopefully, he didn't cause you any trouble."

"Not at all, Kurenai Sensei," Naruto replied, giving her a respectful bow, "Actually, your appearance here saved me trouble, because if I know Sasuke- and I wish I didn't- he would have pressed the issue. Your timely arrival saved me from having to use more drastic measures. So, again, my thanks."

"It was no trouble, Naruto, believe me. Now, I have to go and deal with my team…" she sighed. Things were very slow-going with her team.

"Incidentally, Kurenai Sensei, can I ask you a question?" asked Naruto as the Jonin kunoichi was preparing to depart. Turning back to the teenage blond, she cocked her head to the side, silently inviting the query.

"I was wondering how Hinata's doing… I mean, Sasuke is a bastard, so he's gonna trash her confidence, which wasn't all that high in the academy. So, I wanted to make sure that wasn't happening."

"I see. No, I make sure that he doesn't harass her. She has enough issues with her family that any more might break her. Thank you for your concern, though." she said, bestowing a small smile on the young genin.

"Not at all. Well, good day, Kurenai-sensei." said the boy as she walked out of the field.

"Okay, now that the scheduled interruption and comedy routine have been dealt with, how about we get back to work," said Kakashi. Naruto readied the blades, waiting for Kakashi to come at him again.

Unbeknownst to them, they were being watched from on high by the all-seeing eye of the Hokage of Konohagakure Village.


	5. Chapter 5

DISCLAIMER: I, the author, do not own Naruto. Likewise I do not own the concept of the Devil Arms or Virgil. That belongs to Capcom, as it came from the infamous DMC games. However, I do own the Devil Arm Forging stuff, since as far as I know, it's unique. If I do own anything else in this story, I will let you know.

CHAPTER 5

At the end of the day, Naruto was beyond tired. He had been the resident sparring partner for his entire team. Given that he had total control of his weapons, he was nominated to help them learn the full use of their's.

Unfortunately for him, Kiba's had left a long burn across his chest, Shino's had given him some ugly bruises that went to the bone, and Kakashi's had fried his nerves so badly that he twitched from the leftover energy even now. All in all, not a good day.

He just wanted to rest and heal the damage. His healing rate would deal with it in due time, but it was slow going because the weapons were demonic in nature, thus a demonic healing rate was impaired by them. He even bypassed Ichiraku's ramen stand, he was so tired.

The good news was that Kakashi had seen his condition at the end of the training and had told him that he would not be required to go through that again. A fact for which he was profoundly grateful.

Arriving at his house, he engaged the locks after stepping through the door. He was in no mood for uninvited guests tonight. In fact, he might just kill them and leave their corpse to cool where they fell while he slept.

So really, it was no surprise he found Sasuke's presence in his living room to be about the most offensive thing he could imagine. The little stain was trying to lift the Iron Lords blade out of it's rack, not hearing Naruto come in.

"Sasuke, what are you doing?" asked Naruto curiously. "You do realize that theft is a crime, right? And the fact that I am absolutely the only one with a blade in that pattern means that if you had it, I could have you arrested before you could blink?"

The black-haired heir whirled around, eye's narrowing in irritation at the sight of the other genin. Grimacing, he let go of the ornate weapon, giving it up as a futile effort while the blond was here.

"Dobe. I told you, I will get the swords. They are too good to stay with you. I am the only one worthy to wield them, and by the gods, I will!" yelled the ego-tripping teen. He was irritated, and became more so when the dobe of the academy laughed. He DARED to laugh at the Uchiha. He snarled at that, bristling in righteous indignation.

"Sasuke. You've tried three times already to take them by force. It… will… not… work. There is no way you can gain these weapons, and nothing you can offer me will reveal the source of them. It's as simple as that. Now get out. This is still private property while I live here, and you are here illegally."

This was the last straw! The Uchiha survivor saw red as rage overtook him. He didn't stop to think of the repercussions, he just lashed out. His fist flashing, he punched the boy in the jaw, sending him staggering back. Lashing out with a foot, he kicked the blond in the knee, forcing the limb to bend if it wanted to remain whole. While the blond was still off-balance from the assault, Sasuke spun and kicked him with a roundhouse to the side of the head, sending the boy staggering and falling through a nearby table. It shattered into splinter's with a loud crash.

He straddled the bleeding blond, punching him in the face like a common street brawler, fully committed to killing the insolent whelp where he lay. He was on the way to just that when a pair of strong hands clamped down on his neck, squeezing like a vise.

The hands pulled him off Naruto and threw him bodily towards the door. He landed in a heap, gasping and panting both from the choking and the beating he had delivered to the impertinent blond. Turning, he looked for the person who had choked him and threw him around.

His eyes widened when he saw three people there. His sensei, Kurenai, looked at him, disgust written large in her expressive eyes and mobile features. Kakashi was also there, flexing his hands as if he'd like to continue choking the remaining life out of the last Konoha Uchiha. It was the third person present that had his eyes widening like that.

The Hokage of Honohagakure Village looked down at the young scion of his once-great clan, a deep and abiding anger flaring in his wise old eyes. He was not happy with the youngling, and when he wasn't happy, heads had been known to roll like a child's ball.

"Sasuke. Why were you assaulting a member of my Ninja forces?" asked the Hokage in a deceptive voice. He had been in a meeting with the two Jonin sensei's, but feeling uneasy, had checked Naruto over with his crystal globe. Seeing the assault, he and the two teachers had rushed to Naruto's apartment before anything drastic and irreversible could happen.

"He has power. He is unworthy of it, and I decided I deserved it. He refused to give it over, and I was 'persuading' him to do so. Why the hell did you choke me, Kakashi?!" demanded the arrogant teen.

"Hrm. Good question, Sasuke. Let's see… What would make me want to wring your neck like a chicken's… Oh, let's take a wild stab here and say the unprovoked attack on my student? Gee, that may just be it there!" said Kakashi with abundant amounts of sarcasm in his voice.

"Irregardless, Kakashi. He has broken the law, and he will be punished. Kurenai, take him to the holding cells. We will decide his fate tomorrow. Kakashi, make sure your student is alright, then take him to the hospital. We don't want him to suffer any irreparable harm from tonight's festivities," directed the old Hokage, glaring at Sasuke. If he had his way, the arrogant ass would be placed under a permanent chakra-nullifying seal and put to work in the village. Either that or executed. Unfortunately, he had the feeling that the council would oppose either action.

Looking with concern at his young charge, he watched as Kakashi expertly checked out his injuries, and said, "Nothing life threatening. Sasuke didn't break any bones, thankfully. He did manage to give him a nice black eye, and some other bruising, but it's nothing major." Kakashi looked up at his leader. "Sir, he can't stay here. We broke the door down getting in, and Sasuke is bound and determined that he should have Naruto's swords."

"Yes, Kakashi, I know. I have a place in mind where he can rest in peace. No one will bother him there."

"Where's that, sir?" asked Kakashi, slightly worried. There was only two places that he could think of that fit that bill, one of them being the Sarutobi clans estates, and the other being…

"Training Ground 44. There are facilities there where he can be housed. And besides, it will be a good place to train your students, Kakashi."

Kakashi's eye had widened when he had confirmation of his fears, and he made a move to protest, but was stopped by the upraised hand of the Hokage.

"I understand your fears, but Naruto has the ability to navigate the forest safely. Come, we will go there and introduce him to his new home." Kakashi watched as the Hokage walked out of the wrecked door before walking over to the weapon wrack and lifting the blade up with ease and laying it on Naruto's chest.

He looked at the weapon closely for a second. Was it his imagination, or did the blade shimmer a bit when it was laid with it's master?

Naruto came awake in a rush, sitting upright in his bed and looking around wildly. He wasn't in his apartment, that much was immediately obvious. His apartment had never been that well maintained.

Besides, this bed was many times more comfortable than the one he had 'liberated' for his own use. And the room was more spacious than he was used to. Seeing a door, he went over to it, opening it and peeking out of it. Seeing a short hallway, he closed the door again and gathered up his shirt and coat. Dressing quickly, he automatically strapped on his blades and scrolls.

Seeing the last blade from his house with him, he frowned for a second. Picking it up, he shrugged and looped it around his back, settling it in the traditional carrying manner. It's baldric was comfortable to wear, he had been assured of that before he finished it's making.

Hearing the door open behind him, he whirled, half-drawing the blade before settling down upon seeing Kakashi standing there. His sensei's eyebrow quirked upward at seeing how jumpy Naruto was.

"Well, now that you're awake, we can show you around you're new home. C'mon, let's go. We have a team meeting in about two hours and then a meeting with the Hokage after that." said Kakashi, gesturing for his student to follow him.

Shrugging, figuring that his questions would get answered quicker if he did as his sensei instructed, Naruto followed Kakashi out the door and down the hallway, Kakashi pointing out where things went, like the bathroom, the library, the training hall that he hoped Naruto would allow team seven to make use of, and so on. Naruto unrolled his camping scroll and got a new set of clothes before heading to the shower. Twenty minutes later, he was freshened up enough to actually get his brain in working order.

Following Kakashi on his continued tour, he found out that he was in a restricted training ground that was considered dangerous to be in alone. That was why Team Seven was housed here for the duration of their training. Arriving at the dining room, he saw Kiba, Akamaru and Shino sitting down, eating a hearty breakfast.

Pulling up a seat, he made small talk until breakfast was over. As they sat there, sipping their drinks, Kakashi cleared his throat, gaining the attention of his genin subordinates.

"Well, team, we're here until our training is settled up. This area is ideal for a lot of things, and thus it suits our purposes nicely. Now, as you know, Naruto was assaulted last night, and the Hokage has requested a meeting with Myself and Naruto. You two," he said, indicating Kiba and Shino, "will stay here. Look through the library, familiarize yourself with the tower. Do not leave the grounds without me being present, please. This area is not something to be taken lightly."

Seeing their nods, he smiled under the mask he habitually wore. Standing up, he motioned for his team to follow him to the training hall. They were to practice coordinated assaults against a single target today. He was playing the target dummy today, seeing as he could dodge most of their assaults. Those he couldn't dodge, he could hopefully block. They were not using their devil arms this time, they were using weapons of a similar heft to them.

Well, they were except for Naruto, who could choose to use or not use the power's of the blades at will. This was how they proceeded for the morning, taking a break near midday. Naruto, not being all that hungry, went to the library.

He looked at the scrolls stored here, noting the names of the jutsu's written down, the history scrolls, things not normally available to a genin ranked ninja. He was glad that these were here, because through these he could lose himself for a while.

Glancing through the scrolls again, he saw one that immediately caught his attention. It was a medium thickness scroll with designs around the edge's. Tied with a simple tassel cord, the title of the scroll was faded out from age. Carefully untying it and unfurling it, he read a bit, then slowly smiled.

It was a scroll for seals, making seals and applying them. It had a list of common seals of various utility, from the seals imbued in sealing scrolls to a seal that had anti-seal properties. That was something Naruto didn't understand, if seals were so great, why make one to nullify the effects? Then he read some more, and found out that some seals weren't so great after all.

He was so engrossed in his reading that he didn't hear Kakashi come up to him, or call to him. He felt Kakashi clasp his shoulder, and looked back at his sensei.

"Sorry, master Kakashi. I found this really interesting scroll, and my attention must have…" his voice trailed off as he looked back at the scroll.

"I understand, Naruto. Why don't you freshen up for the meeting with the Hokage? After you're done, we'll head out and get that done with." said Kakashi gently. Naruto scowled, remembering why he had a meeting with the Hokage. He wanted to see Sasuke punished for this, but he'd let the Hokage deal with it.

If it turned out that the Hokage had his hands tied because of the council and Sasuke tried this stunt again, Naruto was afraid that the Hokage and team eight would be a genin short. He would not put up with that again.

Taking Kakashi's advice, he again went to the showers to get refreshed. Finding a new set of his clothes in his room, he got dressed, but left the blades in his room. Since there was only Shino and Kiba on this level of the tower, Naruto's level apparently, he had no worries about the blades not being there when he returned. Besides, it wasn't like they could be stolen anyway.

Keeping only the Iron Lords blade on his back since it was much less conspicuous to have just one blade rather than four or five, he returned to the dining area to find Kakashi finishing up his own small meal.

Still not feeling hungry, he sat and had a cup of tea while he waited. Kakashi made short work of his meal when Naruto made his appearance, so as soon as Naruto finished his cup of tea they were ready to go.

Kakashi was kitted up with his full jonin outfit, with his new gear making a proud appearance in place of the normal issue gear that all jonin's got. Shino and Kiba decided to look through the library, hoping to find something that would help make them better fighters.

Naruto and Kakashi made their way down the tower levels, three in all before they wound up in front of the entrance. Naruto looked out over the forest that was his front yard, speechless. He looked at his sensei curiously, wondering how exactly he was allowed to live here.

Kakashi just told him that it was the will of the Hokage, and that all would be explained at the meeting. So, shelving his questions for the moment, Naruto followed his teacher into the forest.

Back in the Tower in the middle of Training Ground 44, Kiba looked at Shino and said, "So, why does Naruto get to live here, anyway? All my mom would tell me was that it was necessary."

Shino looked up at him from the scroll he had been reading and told his teammate, "Father told me that he was attacked in his house and in attaining entry to save him, Kakashi broke the door beyond immediate repair. Since Naruto has these abilities and needs the space to store his creations, the Hokage allotted him this level of the Tower, which as you can see is extensive."

"I'll say. Wonder if Naruto would mind if I crashed here for a while… I want to get out of the Inuzuka compound for a while, and this place seems great. Since Naruto's a teammate, it's not like I'd be living with a stranger or anything." said Kiba, half to himself and Akamaru.

"Father suggested I do the same thing. He said that if I was away from the compound, I might come up with a new approach to our families jutsu's." said Shino emotionlessly.

Arriving at the gate to the training ground, Kakashi flashed a key before he unlocked the gate, handing the small bit of metal to Naruto when he was done with it. He looked at his student for a second, then said, "Don't lose that key. It will allow you to use not only this gate, but the secret tunnels that lead to the tower. This is so you can re-stock your supplies if you need to. Now then, let's go see our leader, shall we?" Once Naruto had secured the key in his scroll, he nodded and headed off to the Hokage Tower, Kakashi keeping pace alongside, not reading his little orange book for once.

The Hokage sat at his desk, looking over the paperwork he had to do today. Sighing, he shuffled the papers and sorted them into piles of things, which he mentally labeled 'important' 'must look into' and 'utterly depressing make-work'. He dealt with the last pile first, since there was about double that than the other two piles put together.

After that pile was done, he was giving some serious thought to just burning the whole thing with a fire jutsu when there was a knock on his door. Looking at the clock, he saw that it was time for his appointment with Kakashi and Naruto. Calling for them to come in, he cleared his desk and waited.

Once they had entered his spacious office and sat in the chairs in front of his desk, he steepled his fingers together and looked at them. Naruto sat with a calm expression on his face, and who knew what Kakashi had for an expression under that kami-forsaken mask?

Sarutobi sighed and said, "You know why you are here, Naruto?"

"I assume it has something to do with Sasuke's assault and attempted theft last night. And why I'm apparently living in a restricted part of the village as well."

The Hokage nodded at that. "Indeed it is. Sasuke Uchiha has been charged with attempted theft and assault of a fellow Shinobi of the leaf. These two crimes would normally preclude his remaining a Genin ninja, but the Council has demanded leniency for the child. Some had the nerve to say that had you given him what he wanted then this would have never happened. I told them that it was your business whether you gave him anything or not, but they didn't see it that way, unfortunately."

"Let me guess, they wanted to know where I got the items from in the first place, right? Well tough. There are only a few people in this entire village who know, and I'm not spreading it around more than that. The ones I've told have my unquestioned trust, and they would never betray me. The rest can scratch and scrabble for all I care." said Naruto in a cold tone. All his life the Council had gone out of it's way to harass him, and he was getting sick of it.

"True Naruto. It is your right to do with these weapons and skills as you please as a loyal ninja of Konohagakure Village. And so, I ask you, what do you want to do about the charges?"

Naruto thought about it for a while. He had perfect legal grounds for pressing heavy charges on the stupid brat, but the Council would add yet another black mark against him if he did. On the other hand, if he let it slide, Sasuke would be even more insufferable. Besides, if he took his shot at the Uchiha survivor, he'd make the Council see that he wasn't scared of them at all.

"Hrm. Well, if I press charges against him, the Council will hate me. If I let him go, he'll be a bigger ass than ever. Lose-Lose for me. Well then, I'll press charges on the assault. Attempted theft is bad, but there was no way he was stealing my gear. They'd never allow it." he said, laying a gentle hand on the blade of the Iron Lord he had bested and fashioned into his first real blade. It was not lost on the two adults in the room that the blade pulsed in recognition of that touch, as if reacting to a friendly hand on the shoulder or something.

Kakashi wondered why his weapons all reacted that way, it was definitely an unnerving experience. His own blades, gifted to him by the young forge master, had recently begun to do the same. He'd have to make sure and ask Naruto about it sometime soon.

Sarutobi was surprised at Naruto's analysis of the situation, but he was forced to agree that it was fairly accurate. He dreaded hearing the Council's reaction to this one. There were some who actually respected the boy, like the Inuzuka and Aburame clans, the Nara clan and the Akimichi clan also lent their support as well, but there were more who hated the boy, mostly civilian councilors who thought that they should have more power.

"Well, if that's your decision Naruto, I'll fill out the paperwork and assign a punishment. Since I'm the head of this village and the only arbiter as far as inter-ninja disputes, I am the first and final court of appeal, so the Council can't overrule me. Is there a specific punishment you have in mind?"

"No, but there is one request, actually. Don't kick him out of the Shinobi ranks. We're understaffed as it is, and we need all the agents we can get. Beyond that, I could care less. But I will say this, Master Sarutobi: If the spoiled brat does that again, we will be a Genin short, because my patience ended last night. He get's no more chances from me."

"I understand, Naruto. If he does this again, you are authorized to defend yourself, using whatever means are available. Now, on a separate subject, you have been relocated to a separate area that is normally forbidden to Genin Shinobi. That level of the Tower in Training Ground 44 is yours, to live in as you will. The stipend that I provided is still in effect, with the extra that was going to housing restored to you. Use this, in addition to your mission pay, to stock that level with furniture and food. It has been noted that it is yours now, so there can be no evicting you from it aside from my direct order. Any questions?"

"No, master Sarutobi. I understand. If I am placed in a secluded place, then there is much less chance that I will be assaulted or have a repeat of last night's experience. I like that tower, by the way. It has a nice library and a great dojo." said the irrepressible teen.

Sarutobi chuckled. He'd been making the ANBU sweat, hauling stuff to that tower and setting it up for immediate use. He'd heard some of them groaning about the work, but others who had looked after Naruto as he was growing up had taken right to it, since it was for him.

Since that concluded the meeting with the Hokage, the two representatives from Team Seven stood, bowed respectfully, and left to pursue their training.

Back in the tower after a short shopping trip to restock the larder and making use of the underground tunnel system so they didn't get mauled by a wild animal while loaded down with the goodies, they found Kiba and Shino in the Dojo.

Shino was mediating, and Kiba was practicing with his Kau-Sin-Ke. He was leaving a trail of fire behind him as he whirled and twisted into different forms, attempting to maintain control of the weapon at all times.

Shino was the first to notice them, standing up and stretching to relive the tightness of the muscles. Kiba noticed them soon after, ending his practice to help them store away the food and other supplies that Naruto had acquired. While they were helping with that, they brought up the question of them being able to stay here, which made Naruto smile a bit.

He told them that as this level of the Tower had been given to him, he had no problems with it. He welcomed the company, in fact, because he had been alone too long. All he asked was that they help with the food supplies, since his stipend would be taxed feeding three appetites. Once that was out of the way, the teammates spent some time with Kakashi going over some theory work involving scouting. Since he hadn't set up a drill for it, he covered the intellectual side of things for now. He did promise them that they'd be having more field exercises in the future.

He also told them that once he deemed them ready, he'd begin the missions. He warned them that D-ranked missions were some of the most boring things that a ninja could suffer, which was what Genin dealt with the most, that and it was an effective punishment for doing things wrong.

Naruto grimaced at that. He wasn't looking forward to the D-rank, but he'd put up with it until he was ready for something higher. Until then, he'd focus his effort's on learning and shaping himself up for his future.

Later that night, he went and visited the Shinigami once again. He liked to visit and chat with the divinity who had trained him and provided the basis for who he was becoming. The creature was currently snacking on another unfortunate soul, this one tasting of good things.

Once he saw his apprentice step into his realm, he smiled at him around the still-screaming soul. Swallowing the thing quickly, he asked, "How are you doing today, young one?"

"I am well, master Shinigami. I wanted to know things were going with you. After that, I've got another set of stops to make." the blond said with a grin.

"Again? Damn, didn't think you'd take so well to the Forgemaster's art. Well, you're gaining a reputation in the Borderlands, I'll have you know. Several strong Rogues are gunning for you, my boy. Apparently the realm leaders are scared of you, so they want you dead. On the plus side of things, you're not alone in this fight, because I was able to persuade several of the strong demons that allying with you was smarter than allying against you."

"That's true enough. Who's against me now? I'll deal with them, then take care of my other business. Can't let this type of thing slide for too long, y'know."

"Pretty much. Well, the new Dokukage's staunchly against you, he's a weakling who got his position by trickery, no big shakes there. The Water Monarch, the Shadow Monarch, and the new Earth Monarch are all against you. Their similar to their predescessors, you've met all of them aside from the Shadow Monarch."

"Ironic. I was just on my way to see that one anyway. Funny how some things work out, huh?"

The Shinigami just nodded. It was indeed funny how some things played out. He told his apprentice that he'd be watched over as normal, and once he won mastery of a realm, the Shinigami would know about it. Nodding, the teen stepped off to deal with the latest issues in the Borderlands.

Naruto sighed. He'd defeated the Water Monarch without much trouble, fashioning a spear from his essence. Lightweight and durable as only a Devil Arm could be, it served him faithfully already. The new Earth Monarch was a bit of a stumbling block. He was durable and stubborn, so he wasn't inclined to quit. The Shadow Monarch had been the worst one, though. If Naruto had been without his dragon scale shirt, he'd have been lacerated by the demons attacks. As it was, his arms were scarred even more, and his torso was bruised like he'd been beaten by about three million clubs at once.

He was sore, but the benefit was he had a new garment. A shadowy cloak that seemed to billow and wave in a phantasmal wind. It was a nice garment, and it had more uses than just looking cool.

He'd encountered a Rogue bounty hunter just after earning the Cloak. An ice demon had tried to bushwhack him while he was heading back to see the Shinigami. He had routed it by using the cloak to slip into the ground, re-appearing inside the monsters shadow to stab it in the back with his fire blade.

After crushing that beast, he had fashioned himself a nasty little Kris knife, the whole thing from handle to the tip of it's wavy blade about as long as his arm from elbow to wrist. The icy-hued steel blade was smooth and sharp. He could feel the readiness of the blade, willing to serve the one who had crafted it.

Now he was here, before the Shinigami, having related his report to the divinity. He had been surprised that there was another person here, dressed in a blue trench coat with an elegant katana at his side. His silver hair dropped down, seemingly obscuring his eyes, but Naruto doubted that highly.

His aura said that he'd been the survivor of many battles in the past, with skills honed to a deadly edge. His teacher had shocked him when he introduced the stranger as Virgil, saying that he'd be teaching him a style of fighting that went well with many edged weapons, like what Naruto preferred.

Virgil stepped up and told him that he was to be taught the demonic fighting style called Dark Slayer. Appropriate for one who fought demons and used weapons crafted from them, he said. He went on to detail some of the things that the style could do.

Suffice it to say that Naruto was impressed. He agreed to learn this deadly style of fighting, since he had no set style of his own. Fortunately for him he healed fast, as Virgil was merciless in his teaching.

After a grueling three years in Shinigami's realm, he had advanced in his skill's nicely. He was adept in making the vicious, devastating attacks that the Dark Slayer style called for, always targeting a vital point and chaining attacks together in unpredictable ways to wrong-foot the enemy. Virgil was guarded in his praise, but gave it when Naruto performed well.

He had taught Naruto all he could, the rest would come with practice. To mark the event of his graduation, he gave Naruto a gift: The Yamato Sword, given to him by his first teacher in the Dark Slayer arts. The elegant Katana moved like liquid lightning in his hands, seemingly seeking the targets of it's own volition. The sword truly was a masterpiece of the Devil Forger's arts.

Returning the favor, Naruto gave Virgil a blade that he had crafted from a Monarch grade demon he had defeated using the Dark Slayer style he had learned from this man. Virgil had accepted, since he needed a weapon. He liked the blade, but not having time for long farewells, said that he had to get going because he had a job to do.

Naruto grinned at that, knowing that Virgil avoided emotional scenes like the plague. He turned to his first teacher and bid him farewell, saying that he had to go back to his realm and sleep.

The next day, showered and dressed in his new clothes and armed with the Yamato and Kris, which he had named Khelek Mori, or Icy Dark in the Demon tongue, because of the blade's abilities. He was greeted by cries of shock when the other's caught sight of his clothes.

He grimaced when he realized that he had forgotten to let them know he was going to be seeing the Shinigami again last night. He got himself some breakfast as he explained about what had happened to him last night.

Silence greeted his explanation, so he looked up to see his partners staring at him gape-mouthed. "What?" he asked them.

"Naruto, you do realize that it's not every day one hears that a teammate has a demonic price on his head, right?" asked Shino dryly.

"Yeah, dude. How'd that happen, anyway?" asked Kiba curiously.

"Well, it seems that I torqued off a few of the smarter demonic Monarchs, and they wanted to take steps before I visited their realm. Too bad for them that just added them to my hit list. The Dark Slayer style of fighting is an added bonus. Well, once Master Kakashi get's here, we'll see what he has planned for us. If there's an opportunity, I'll help with taijutsu or weapons work. My ninjutsu needs work myself, since for my weapons to be most effective I want to learn stealth arts."

Since neither of the students before him knew any, he'd have to wait for Kakashi to get there and train them. But, he thought to himself, things are shaping up nicely so far. Soon I'll be ready for my life as a Shinobi of Konoha and make the Hokage proud.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I, much to my dismay, don't own Naruto. Unless Kishimoto is writing fanfics for his own works, no one here does…

CHAPTER 6

Three months later, Naruto was officially sick and tired of D-rank missions. He'd heard that they were boring, but not that they were little more than mindless chores. He didn't complain, though, since they paid enough for his team to survive in the Tower with some left over for each of them.

Kakashi had asked them what they wanted to learn so he could figure out what he'd need for the lessons. Kiba wanted to enhance his strength and speed, Shino wanted to learn support jutsu's, since that was his chosen role on the team. When he asked Naruto, he learned that the blond wanted to learn stealth and concealment jutsu's.

When he asked why, he was informed that it would be easier for a killing shot if they couldn't see it coming. When asked why he didn't rely on the cloak, he responded that he didn't want to become reliant on it and his other Devil Arms and gear. A good ninja had backups for everything, just in case, and that was what Naruto was attempting to do.

So that was what they focused on during the last month of their training before taking on missions. Kiba, Shino and Naruto had advanced a long way from the runny-nosed Genins they had been. They functioned as an integrated whole on the battlefield. Kakashi, while keeping his cool and aloof image mostly intact, let them know how proud of them he was, since it was tough learning to fight with a team.

Once they had taken missions, they began to see more and more the reason that the D-rank missions were used as a punishment. From chasing Tora, the pet to the Daimyo's wife, to babysitting and more, they did it all. While no one said anything, thanks mostly to Kakashi repeatedly telling them that all things took time, they nevertheless felt that they were being punished themselves. The only consolation was knowing that the Uchiha had been doing this for a lot longer than they had been, and doing it for no pay as well.

That was the punishment that the Hokage leveled on the brat, and the kicker was that they didn't count for mission requirements, so he still had to do the ones alongside the rest of Team Eight. The few times they had seen him in the village, he gave Naruto a scowl of pure hate.

Naruto, on the other hand, couldn't care less what the stupid fool thought. He had focused himself on making sure that his abilities kept pace with each other. His stealth techniques were very good, his weaponry was superb, and so was his patience. He was brutal in the practice ring when he sparred, but that served to make his team work harder to catch up to him.

After the mission for the day was done, they retired to the Tower, traveling through the forest this time, since they didn't have anything loading them down and they wanted to remain in practice. Kakashi, on the other hand, went to see the Hokage.

Once he was secured in a meeting with the wizened leader of Konoha, he said, "Sir, I think my cell is ready for C-ranked missions. After all, that's how we make sure they're ready, isn't it? My cell hasn't said anything directly, mind, but I can tell that their skills are being wasted on D-rank missions."

"Do you have their current skill reports with you, Kakashi?" asked the Hokage. The Jonin nodded and drew out some papers from his book, tucked away in a secret pouch concealed there. Handing them to the Hokage, he sat back and waited for the reaction.

The Hokage was stumped. Naruto's skill report said that he was able to best Kakashi about one time in three? How in Kami's name did he get so good? He continued reading, his eyebrows rising as he read the current jutsu list he knew, including the impressive number of stealth oriented jutsu's.

"Why does he focus on that so much, Kakashi? Do you know?" murmured the old man.

"Yes, lord Hokage. He focused his efforts there so he could, as he put it, 'get a quick kill in' with his blades. He doesn't seem bothered by the fact that he'll be required to kill, either. He says that he knew that and still joined anyway and that it was too late for regrets. I will say that he is likely to be an unequaled stealth operative. Between his drive to succeed and his skills and gear, he's quite dangerous."

"Is he mentally sound? Is he likely to break under this pressure?"

"No. He's sound, that much I can assure you. He's withdrawn though. He hides his emotions. The village has gotten to him, big time. I don't see a way to reverse this easily, though. Isolation isn't ideal, but if he's alone with people he trusts, maybe he can work through it. We'll see. He's taken over the position of leader in this cell, Kiba and Shino both follow his lead. They see him trying so hard and determinedly, and they naturally do the same thing. If they keep progressing at this rate, I'm going to recommend them for the Chunin exams this year." said Kakashi in a proud tone. Here, he didn't bother to conceal his pride in his students. Sarutobi was surprised at this statement. He had no idea that Kakashi was considering his students for the Chunin exams this early. Either he was overestimating their skills, unlikely if their dossiers was correct, or he had trained a legendary team in the making.

Thinking this over, he smiled and said, "Very well, Kakashi. I will assign them a C-ranked mission when you come by for one next time. Now, if you will excuse me, I have about three ton's of paperwork waiting for me." he said in a woebegone voice.

Kakashi's laughter lingered behind him as he exited the room.

The next day, in the Hokage's office, they waited for their assignment for the day. Kiba hoped that it was better than the D-ranked missions that they had been given recently, while Shino and Naruto waited patiently. If they had to do another D-rank mission, that was what they would do, but they wouldn't be happy about.

The Hokage smiled at them, making small talk while they waited for Kakashi to show up. He asked about their training, which Kiba and Shino responded to enthusiastically, while Naruto answered with guarded words. He didn't want the Dark Slayer style to become common knowledge either. He had a lot of secrets, secrets that were deadly in the wrong hands.

The Hokage seemed to understand that, which was a good thing. All Shinobi have their secrets, it comes with the job. Though Naruto seemed to be acquiring secrets faster than most. Between his tenant, his weapons, and his new fighting abilities, he was shaping up to be a very enigmatic figure.

Sarutobi was considering this when Kakashi walked in, right as the mission office opened. The old Hokage's eyes widened at that, because Kakashi's lateness was almost a Konoha byword, you could set your clock by it in the past. But, here he was, ready for the teams next assignment.

"Well, since you are all here now, I think it's time to give you the day's assignment, yes?" the old man asked teasingly. He knew what they wanted, and it was thanks to Kakashi's recommendations that they'd be getting it.

"Lord Hokage, Team Seven is ready for our next mission." said Kakashi formally, alerting his Hokage that all was in readiness.

"Excellent. Since you have as much experience as you do in performing D-ranked missions, I feel that giving you a C-rank will not hurt too much. It will help broaden your horizon's and teach you more. Your team is going on a scouting mission. There are several bandits harassing some towns, and they have banded together to pay to have it stopped. Your mission is to scout out the area, locate the bandits, and gain an accurate understanding of their strengths. If the opportunity presents itself, or if they are sufficiently weak, you are authorized to deal with them yourselves. Otherwise Kakashi will report back to me for backup. If that happens, you will remain there to give aid and brief the assault team. Understood?" asked the old man. Team Seven nodded. The Hokage had given them enough information to do their job. They'd just have to be cautious, that's all.

Naruto stretched himself out. He had left most of his weapons behind at the tower. He hoped that he wouldn't need them. He had no idea that they'd be given a C-rank mission today, or he might have brought them. Team Seven fell into step with the blond as he walked out. The Hokage chuckled after they had left, knowing that Naruto was leading his team to greatness.

Inside Naruto's mindscape, the Kyubi sat behind the seal, having listened in on the mission briefing the old goat gave the brat and his team. He smirked, knowing that his jailor couldn't see it. Now his plans could advance more.

The great demon fox had laughed at the things the old fossil had misleadingly called 'missions'. The demonic beast had laughed long and hard when the brat had caught the cat- Tora, if he remembered right- and the thing had scratched the hell out of his host. He had healed the small wounds, so there was no worries there.

After all, he couldn't have the body marred when his plan finally worked, now could he?

Naruto and the rest of Team Seven leapt through the trees, heading to their first stopping point. Their mission was fairly straightforward, but there were some potential complications. If the bandits attacked before their backup arrived, they'd be forced into a confrontation with the bandits, in spite of their numbers or apparent skill.

Once away from Konoha, away from the people there, Naruto was more at peace. Here, in the wilderness, he didn't have to worry that anyone would get any idea's about declaring it open season for Naruto's in Konoha. The old man meant well, but he couldn't control the actions of the ignorant masses that inhabited- or infested, depending on who or what you asked- the great hidden village.

His bond with his team had deepened, due to the fact that they lived in the same area, one that was hostile to everyone and everything that wandered in, intentionally or not. He trusted them, they knew one of his big secrets, and they had been very good at keeping their lips zipped.

Kakashi didn't live in the tower himself. He met them there in the morning for workouts and training before taking them to receive their missions for the day. That had been the pattern for the months of training and survival exercises that Kakashi had put them through. Naruto grinned mirthlessly as he recalled the little hide-and-seek that Kakashi had sprung on them a month ago.

They had combed the Forest for hours before heading back to the tower. When they got there, bruised, scratched and beaten by the wildlife in the area, they saw Kakashi sitting on the couch reading. He had looked up at them and gave them a grin, his eye mimicking the motion. They had seethed at that, but had paid him back in the sparring match that followed. He had gotten a taste of what it felt like to be the target for a group of pissed-off Shinobi wielding Devil Arms.

Naruto dragged himself back out of la-la land and focused on what he was doing. It wouldn't do for him to lose his attention and slam head-first into a tree, now would it? This mission promised to be a good test for his skills, his skills and his teams. They lived together, fought together, and caused hell together. Naruto grinned broadly when he remembered the night him and Kiba had gotten Shino drunk. Who knew he was as loud and boisterous then as he was quiet and reserved normally. The next morning, they had all agreed to keep that night to themselves.

Seeing the first stopping point up ahead, Team Seven settled in, Naruto agreeing to take fist watch, Kiba taking second, Shino taking third, and Kakashi, the old campaigner taking the last watch of the night. After they had dug a fire-pit and set their sleeping rolls aside for later use, they had their evening meal and went to their respective posts.

Naruto, taking the beginning watch, perched in a tree, his cloak open to the night sky, he pondered why he felt so at peace out here, in the darkness and the wild. He figured that it was the simple fact that here he had escaped the judgment of the populous of Konoha. He was most comfortable with just his teammates. At least they didn't judge him for what he was. It was a good feeling, being trusted like that.

Pushing his senses out, feeling for any malice in the air, he found nothing. Relaxing into his perch, he contemplated the night sky. The stars above looked down o the world, seemingly laughing in amusement at the mortals below. He grinned and looked around again, not wanting to relax his guard.

The night passed fairly quickly, everyone getting an adequate rest in between their watches. Packing up quickly, they set out early to reach their destination. They were prepared to do their job as shinobi, knowing that they might have to kill today. They had discussed it amongst themselves several times at night, well after Kakashi had left. They had come to the realization that this was their job, this was what they had been trained for, and this was what they had committed to when they had accepted the rank of genin.

Pushing the uncomfortable thoughts aside, Naruto refocused on the mission, his cloak streaming behind him as he ran. Kiba was ahead of him, his enhanced nose being put to good use for this mission. Shino was beside him, providing backup to Kiba should he need it. Kakashi was behind him, acting as rear-guard for this mission. Naruto and the other's knew what they were to do.

Kiba and Shino would try and gain an accurate estimate of their numbers and location, then send Naruto in. Naruto would reconnoiter the camp itself, noting their strength as well as guards and suchlike. Kakashi was to provide the tactical reasoning that came from years of experience.

It wasn't too long that Kiba caught a scent, Akamaru beside him snarling silently. Shino released his kikai bugs, sending them in to find out how many men there were. They waited tensely, not wanting to be discovered here. Shino's face showed his concentration in the slight furrows between his eyebrows. Otherwise, his face was impassive as always.

Eventually the bugs came back. There might have been a few missing, but from the great host that Shino carried, any losses were unnoticeable. He looked at the rest of Team seven and said, "There are at least twenty men in that camp that are obviously bandits. I am not sure, but there may be hostages. Naruto, it is time."

Naruto nodded and merged with his own shadow, sinking into a twilight realm that allowed him to see the real world, but not interact or be seen himself. If he wanted to do anything, he'd have to leave the realm, and during the process he was vulnerable. It took about three minutes to fully sink in or leave, so using it in combat was not an option at all.

Traversing the distance easily, he scouted it out, the view of the camp somewhat flat and distorted. He saw the men, all right. He couldn't miss them. Dirty, unwashed, probably smelly enough to give Kiba fits, they were typical bandits. They wore scavenged armor from the fallen and wielded whatever ill-kept weapons they could get their hands on. Several of them were on watch, but they were foolishly placed, too far to render aid for a friend, and too close to the main camp.

Looking some more, finding several weak points in their defenses, he was about to head back and report his findings when he saw something that made his blood boil. In a cage, chained like animals, were several men, women and children. Their clothes were ragged and filthy, as if they were unable to clean them. Not surprising, given that they were kept like slaves.

Naruto had seen enough, but before he could get away, he saw one more thing. A bandit came and unchained a woman, dragging her away forcibly, kicking and screaming, if her expression was anything to go by. Naruto had had enough. He quickly traveled back to camp and relayed his findings to his leader.

Kakashi was stuck. His students were clearly incensed at this, and dearly wanted to attack. But, he wasn't sure they could prevail against that number. They were just bandits, true, but still, they were four against many. But the gambler side of him, the side that he kept hidden most of the time, egged him on. He was proud of his students, duly proud of them and their hard earned skill. This was as good a test as any.

And so, he gave the order to attack. He would make sure that they all survived this, he swore it. Naruto melted back into the ground, relying on Kiba and Shino to cause a big distraction so he could hit them from behind. His first goal, however, was to free the captives.

When everything was ready, the attack began. Naruto melted back up into physical reality, moving back to the tent the bandit had dragged his captive audience to. Bursting in, he caught the man with his pants down- literally. He was busy with the woman, her screams overriding his grunts as he rutted like a beast. Naruto dispatched him quick with a slash to the back, which made the man rear back and scream in agony, and then a swift decapitation as he smacked the mans head off, the blood spurting away from the woman.

He grabbed a cloak and tossed it to the woman, gruffly ordering her to cover herself. He grabbed the keys from the dead bandits belt and handed them to her, ordering her to free the rest of the prisoners. She nodded frantically, crying her eyes out.

Naruto moved swiftly out the tent flap, an unstoppable angel of death as a deep and abiding rage taking hold of him. Unknown to him at the time, his eyes changed from their normal cerulean blue to solid quicksilver eyes with a shining pupil in the center. His hair also began to darken.

Kiba and Shino were tearing a hole in the bandits ranks, their weapons flashing as they were put to quick and deadly use. They had no time for thoughts, the press of bodies making it such that if they didn't react on autopilot, they might die. They had never been so thankful of their training as they were now. Kakashi was merciless in his training, and it was only now, now that their lives depended on it, that they understood why. As the battle progressed, they felt… different, stronger. Their weapons were like a part of them now, not a separate entity at all.

Right in front of the bandits, Kiba's eyes flashed a burning crimson, full of rage and unquenchable resolve. His fury seemed endless, but it was not so. He swung his weapon one last time, ending the predations of another bandit, then collapsed from the drain of the weapon.

Shino was beside him, feeling an indomitable determination to succeed. His skin began to take on an earthen brown tinge, ridging up like granite before the horrified bandits very eyes. His weapon made great sweeping arcs, crushing bones and crushing their foul ambitions whenever it landed. Unfortunately for him, the sheer drain of these actions began to overwhelm him, and he too fell to the exhaustion that claimed his friend.

Kakashi had landed in the midst of the bandits, his blades flashing in the sunlight as he cleaved through them. He was untouchable, moving fast as lightning and becoming just as destructive. His blades ended corrupted lives wherever they lashed, his will totally bent on protecting his students. His eyes began to shine and spark with bolts, the flashed running across the eyes as if showing a summer storm in progress. His hair also glowed this color to the cowed bandits. He made a dent in their ranks before the strain of the unfamiliar energy sapped his will, leaving him spent and breathless.

The team might have fallen there, had not their absent member made an appearance, reaping lives like an avenging fallen angel. There were few bandits left by this point, the combined assault having decimated their once great might. Naruto finished off the bandits there, leaving the camp barren as he contemplated the fallen bodies of his teammates. As he watched, the changed that he witnessed in them began to recede, returning them to their former states.

Finally, he was the only one who retained their changes. Not that he was aware of this, because as far as he knew, he was normal. His energy left him, the fight having left him drained. He had the feeling that something was wrong, but he didn't know what it was until…

The seal on his stomach glowed fiercely, tendrils of malevolent red youkai streaming out and flailing around like they were attacking something. Naruto bent over, screaming in abject agony, the pain feeling akin to someone ripping away the outer layer of skin in one go and then dunking him in an ocean. It burned, oh it burned. The pain drove him to the breaking point, and then merciful darkness enshrouded everything.

In Naruto's mind, the Kyubi watched as the seal cracked. It was an ingenious seal, that much he would freely admit. The plan he had hatched after Naruto had been given the skills and ability to use the great forge was simple, in and of itself. The seal that trapped him in here and tied his fate to that of a lowly human was made to do just that, seal him in a human. His host was currently a half-breed, thanks to the excess youki from the devil arms he had forged and surrounded himself with.

The funny thing was the fool had even cursed his team with them, eventually making them half demons at the least. But the Fox didn't care about that at all. He just wanted out, and now was the time to strike.

The seal had been stressed when the boy had begun his apotheosis, taking the first faltering steps into demon-hood, and if he applied just enough pressure, the seal would crack like a rotten egg. So he gathered his energy and patience and waited.

When the boy slipped into the realm of unconsciousness, that was the moment he struck. Pouring his power into the seal to overload it, he was rewarded with the sound of cracking and ripping as the seal was obliterated. The cage shimmered like a heat mirage and then disappeared. He was free!

Running out, moving swiftly to take possession of the body while he had the chance, he didn't expect anyone to be here. After all, the boy was too inexperienced to come here on his own, and the fox sure as hell wouldn't call him here, not until his new body was set. So it was no surprise that he was shocked to see someone here.

It looked like his jailor, except, it wasn't. Not really. Skin set in a gold-tinted hue, eyes like liquid quicksilver, a steely determination, these things were foreign to his host, or so he thought.

"Where are you going, great fox," asked the apparition, the shadows of the boys mind seemingly wrapping him up tightly. "You are not supposed to be free of your cage."

:Yes, this is true, but I have broken the chains that bind me, and this body is my spoils! Move aside, whelp, lest I destroy you!: roared the angry fox. He was pissed that something came along to screw his plans all up.

"This body is not yours, this you know. It seems that you can no longer remain here, lest your appetites get the best of you and us. Farewell, Fox. We will see you on the other side of eternity," said the boy in front of him.

The Fox took a chance. He tried to crush the upstart where he stood, not liking the farewell he had given. It sounded too ominous for the fox's liking. Slamming his paw down on the ground where the boy stood, he thought he had crushed the thing, as the shadows had been blown up and around his paw from the impact. He was just beginning to gloat to himself, actually, when he felt it.

A burning shot up along his foreleg, making him, him who had not felt pain in an eternity, gasp in pain. Focusing on what was happening, he was horrified to see shadows engulf his leg, tendrils of inky darkness flowing up the leg towards the main body.

Panicking, trying in a futile effort to retrieve his leg from its new prison, he was slowly sucked into the void, screaming as his power was stripped from him. The last thing he knew was the intense cold before creation.

Naruto was unaware of the events happening inside his own mind, because he was currently in front of the Shinigami.

"Hello, boy. We need to talk."

A/N: Well, here's the next chapter of Foregemaster Naruto. I appologize for the delay, i really don't have much of an excuse aside from lacking inspiration for where I want the story to go. But, I have now found it. Hopefully you readers will like it. And for all of you who reviewed, many thanks go out to you all!


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto…

Chapter 7

"Hello, boy. We need to talk," said the Shinigami in his deep, solemn voice. His gaze rested on his student, burning with it's intensity.

"Hello, master Shinigami. What seems to be the problem," asked Naruto in a tired voice, hoping that it was something simple, like a full-scale invasion from the borderlands or something. That he could deal with, after he had taken a nap.

"Well, apparently, your body has changed. You… well, to put it bluntly, you've become a half-breed demon, approaching full demonic status." This was delivered in a deadpan voice. Naruto just gaped at his teacher, pulling a fish-out-of-water act. The Shinigami would have snickered if the situation wasn't quite so serious.

"Wha-wha-wha-What the HELL are you talking about?! I'm not a demon! I'm Naruto, just a container for one," the teen yelled at the top of his lungs, making the Shinigami wince under his hood. He was glad he didn't have normal mortal concerns, like hearing loss, because he was sure that that yell would have caused it.

"Naruto," he said calmly, raising one hand in an attempt to halt the teens tirade. Miraculously, it worked. "All I said was you have become a demon in body, not heart. You are still you, you are just enhanced. That is all."

"Oh, great," retorted Naruto with much sarcasm. "That just sets my mind right at ease. What the hell caused these changes anyway? Is there any way to reverse them?"

"Well, to answer your last question first," started the God of Death slowly, "There is no way to reverse the changes until the process has run it's course. Even then, the chances are slim. As for what caused it…" here the god trailed off, almost sheepishly.

"What caused it, master?" inquired the boy in silky steel tones.

"(Sigh) Well, it was the overabundance of youkai. Each Devil Arm that was forged by you contained the youkai of the demon you forged the weapon from, and a Human like yourself can't handle constant exposure to youkai without some effects of the exposure… like your becoming a half-breed, and eventual full demon. The fox that was contained in you would have done this by itself, eventually. The presence of the devil arms and the cloak simply sped up the process a bit, that is all."

"…Okay. That much I get. Now tell me," said the young half-demon in tones of rising ire, "Did you KNOW that this would be the result of giving me these things?!"

"I did not know for sure. There was a chance that you could have been totally unaffected, the youkai in effect cancelling each other's influence out. Unfortunately, this was not the case. You are becoming a daemon of shadows, Naruto. That is the simple truth."

Naruto sighed deeply. Well, if that didn't beat all, he mused to himself. Feeling his cloak shifting in the wind that wasn't there, he pondered how natural it felt, like it was always there, even if he never knew it.

"What are the drawbacks of this… process," he asked his master. If there was anything bad about it, he'd rather know ahead of time.

"Well, the drawbacks are the fact that you're ageless now. Most everyone you know will die of old age while you, once you reach your prime, will cease to age. Time has no hold on you now. The other thing is you have to acclimate yourself to your new body, the energy that a demon uses for their arts is different from a human's chakra. You've absorbed the raw power of the nine-tailed fox already, and once the process is finished, your other Devil Arms will be absorbed as well. Each one represents a total of one tail's worth of raw power and ability. Ergo, you will be equal to an eighteen tailed Lord amongst your new kind. The mortal realm is not ready for such power yet. Your power will be sealed away, in effect leaving you with a grand total of three."

Naruto blinked at that. He had no idea that he'd end up that powerful. Even three tails worth of power, each tail representing enough raw chakra to level five cities in a breath, would make him a powerhouse in battle. Still… "What happens when I run out of those three?"

"Well, then they will refill, naturally. I sincerely doubt that you will ever drain your pools, though. In extreme cases, you can draw on more, enough to equal the playing field in power. Skill is up to you."

Naruto still wasn't happy about all this, but he was pragmatic about it all. If he was immortal after a certain point, then so be it. He'd become a guardian of the leaf, serving the village that shunned him long past the time he should be dead. Thinking of the potential loss of friends brought another concern to mind.

"What about my teammates," he demanded. After all, if he was becoming a demon, what would happen to them?

"Sadly, they too are becoming half-breeds. The process is slower for them as there is no pre-existing youkai there to enhance and change, but they are changing as well," stated the Shinigami softly. Naruto groaned. His head hurt.

"Okay, last thing. How long will the process take all in all? I'd rather not be crippled with pain like that in a long battle, thanks all the same."

"Well, there are a couple options you can take. One is to let it go at it's own pace, painful as hell. The process will take anywhere from a month to four months to complete at that pace, depending on circumstances. The other is to allow me to speed the process up, finishing it now. Also painful, much more so, but after it's done, that's all."

Naruto had some thinking to do, pondering the options before him. Either one was life-altering. He decided that while he was smart and mature for his age, he wasn't quite ready to make that decision alone. And he said as much.

The Shinigami nodded. That was the answer he had expected, after all. Waving his hand, he dismissed his pupil and friend back to his own realm. Waiting for a moment to make sure that he was gone, he turned to a deeper spot of shadow.

"Are you sure that this is the wise course to take? He is quite young for this burden we are giving him."

"(Sigh) I know. We have little choice though, old friend. If the Gates return without the Guardians, creation is doomed. You remember the last time there raged a great War." It was not a question at all, though the tone implied one. The voice was deep, having qualities of a self-echo around it.

"Indeed I do. A royal mess it was, too. Still, four of the eight are awakening, and the last four are not chosen yet. He bears an awful burden for one so untried. Still, his determination will see it through. When he returns, I will instruct him more, and give him the passage to guide him."

The dark specter seemed to nod, responding with, "Very well, Shinigami. We leave this in your hands. When you have need of me, just call, and I will come. Fare Well, my brother," and with that, the blotch of deeper darkness seemed to fade away, leaving little more than the dreary landscape that Shinigami inhabited.

In the mortal world, Team Seven had awoken from their slumber, seeing Naruto passed out on the ground near them. They were shocked at the changes that he had gone through. His skin had taken on a golden hue, somewhat offsetting his pallor from being hidden away from sunlight so much. His hair had also changed it colors, pitch darkness creeping up from the roots to about halfway. It was an odd sight, to say the least.

Naruto was currently moaning in his passed-out state. The seal that was on his stomach glowed sharply, causing Kakashi to start worrying, and then the seal shattered, making Kakashi freak. He waited, but the malevolent red tendrils of raw demonic power that was leaking out slowly shifted into a strangely calming black, like watching a peaceful night sky.

The three able shinobi picked Naruto up, Kakashi slinging him over his back like a sack of rocks to transport him back to camp. He was worried about his student, rightly so. If he was overtaken by the kyubi fox, it was doubtful that he'd be able to repress the thing, especially as it's prison had been shattered irrevocably.

Putting those thoughts aside for later consideration, he focused on the trip back to camp. The entire team was tired, rightfully so, and Kakashi wanted to send for some backup. Fortunately, there was another team nearby, a more experienced Genin squad led by another Jonin named Guy Might.

Kakashi was hesitant to call them in, because then he'd have to deal with Guy's personality. That was just something Kakashi didn't want to do voluntarily. Unfortunately, his team was too damn tired to mount an effective watch or repel any hostiles that remained. So, with great reluctance, Kakashi summoned one of his dogs, quickly wrote a backup request, and sent the poor hound on his way, whimpering the whole time.

After that was done, he tried his hardest to prepare his poor genin for the horror that was about to descend upon them. He only hoped that his efforts weren't in vain.

Naruto slowly blinked his eyes open, seeing the sky darkening, which indicated that the sun was setting. Moving his head as little as possible, he tried to ascertain where he was. Unfortunately, his movement attracted attention.

"Guy-Sensei! Our youthful comrade has awoken from his unyouthful slumber!" yelled out a teen in a horrendous spandex suit. Naruto immediately, upon seeing that, shut his eyes tightly, not daring to open them again, praying that it was an illusion.

"YES! Lee, your youthful observation has saved him from starvation tonight!" This came from another source, a deeper voice that indicated maturity. Naruto hoped that, if he ignored them hard enough, or prayed enough, the horror's would go away and leave his rotting carcass in peace. Sadly, this was not to be.

He knew this by the energetic shaking that his shoulders were being subjected to. His eyes were forced open, and he was confronted with the sight of a smiling teen, eyebrows ridiculously thick, bowl-cut hair shining in the fire-light. Naruto almost hoped that this was hell, that way he'd be able to escape easier.

He waited for the shaking to stop, but it continued on. Finally getting sick of it, he commanded his cloak to bring him one of his blades. Feeling the comforting weight in his hand, he immediately unsheathed the sword and smacked the fool with the dull side.

This caused the shaking to let up, at least. The energetic teen looked at him with wide eyes as Naruto backed away, keeping his blade handy in case he had to stop another senses-rattling assault.

"What did you do that for?" demanded the boy in a loud voice. "I wanted to make sure your youthful fires were burning brightly!"

"Don't," said Naruto. "I'm a little high-strung right now, and I don't know you. Where is Kakashi-Sensei and the rest of my team?"

"We're right here, Naruto," came the calm voice of Kakashi as he exited a tent.

"Okay… Where the hell are we? Last I knew we were in the bandit camp. And where's Kiba and Shino?"

"Your teammates are sleeping, Naruto," said Kakashi soothingly. "As for where we are, we're two days out from Konoha, heading back to report a successful mission. How are you feeling?"

"Tired, at the moment. There's a lot I have to talk to you guys and the Hokage about, it's kinda important. Where's my gear?"

"Your blades are all laid out in my tent, aside from the Yamato. That one we left with you. The only other one is the Kris that you had. Tenten has that one, gushing about the craftsmanship." This caused Naruto to whip around, looking for the one who had the sharp blade. Whoever they were, they shouldn't have been able to draw the weapon to examine it in the first place, but when he laid eyes on it, and the girl holding it, he saw that it was indeed free of it's sheath.

Blinking curiously, he moved over slowly to the girl, not wanting to get skewered by his own blade. He saw the knife was glinting more than was normally warranted by firelight, as if it were reacting to her touch. And that meant one thing, so far as he was concerned. The blade was no longer his, it belonged to her.

Sighing internally to himself, wondering just how it was that he managed to forge weapons that picked their own wielders, he stood next to her as she examined every inch of the masterfully-crafted knife. Clearing his throat- making the bun-haired girl jump in surprise, incidentally- he asked, "So, what do you think of Khelek Mori? Does the weapon meet with your approval?"

The girl blinked, obviously confused as to what he was talking about, then it clicked for her. "Oh! This is your weapon? It's nice, where did you get it? I've never seen one like it!" She probably would have run on and on, but Naruto held up a hand to stop her.

"Yes, it was my weapon, but I cannot claim that distinction now. That particular honor is yours, actually."

"Wha-? What do you mean? I don't own… this is…" she sputtered off into a confused jumble of noises that indicated her extreme confusion.

"Please, milady, allow me to explain. This weapon is rather… unique. It has the capability to choose its own wielders, and for some time it consented to work with me, but alas, to my chagrin it has decided that it has found worthier hands than mine. I am sure that a kunoichi as skilled as you would bring great honor to the blade. As for where I got it," here Naruto winked in a conspiratorial fashion, "That's a secret for later, my dear. Now, you have the sheath, and the blade has willingly passed into your hands. We will speak again, later. When you feel the need, seek me out, and I will answer." With that somewhat enigmatic statement, Naruto walked off calmly, his cloak seemingly absorbing the light directed at him, making his outline into a human-shaped silhouette of darkest night.

Tenten found her cheeks flushed from the way he spoke to her, acknowledging her skill as a kunoichi even though they just met, and calling her milady. She didn't normally react like this, and the last time someone spoke so familiarly to her, he ended up in the emergency room getting patched up from her well-expressed wrath. But her instincts, which she had grown up listening to, stated unequivocally that there was more to him than met the eye, and it behooved her to get to know him better.

Naruto went to the tent that held his team, a larger affair than was normally carried by shinobi, but in this case, sealing scrolls made up the difference. He carried the blasted thing for emergencies, and he figured that Kakashi would know it, having asked for a complete rundown of all the gear he carried.

He entered the front opening and found his teammates aware and sitting around on their bedrolls. Sighing to himself, he mentally prepared himself for the plunge.

"Guys, there's something I gotta tell you all…" he began, then he launched into his explanation of what was happening to himself and them, finishing up with, "… and that is the whole story. I'm sorry for what I've done… I'll understand if you don't want anything to do with me…" he said, hanging his head in shame.

Silence met his ears, until… "Naruto, did you know that these gifts would change us in this manner," asked Shino is a calm voice.

"No…"

"Dude, would you have given these things to us had you known, or would you have left us in the dark as you suffered?" This came from Kiba, Akamaru barking in agreement.

"I would have kept quiet…"

"Would you ever abandon us, Naruto?" asked Kakashi in a kindly voice.

"Never! That's something I'll never do!" he answered vehemently.

"Then why would you expect us to hate and abandon you? You didn't mean for this to happen, we understand that," began Kakashi. "Besides, there are some benefits to this whole thing."

Naruto stared at him like he was a lunatic. "Master, what benefits could there be?"

"Well, there is of course the benefit of being able to protect Konoha and our dear one's more effectively, for starters. The next is having a source of information that can't be touched, and the last is, even if you're isolated by Konoha in general, you're not alone, because we are right beside you."

Naruto began to tear up. Sure, he had hoped for this reaction, but his bitter years hadn't allowed him the luxury of hoping for it. He had actually planned on being ostracized by his team, being made into a pariah once again.

Outside the tent, Neji Hyuga, Lee Rock, Tenten, and Guy Might all listened in. While it might have been unethical to do so, their overwhelming curiosity got the better of them. Guy was shocked that his eternal rival was becoming a demon of sorts, but he chalked it up to his rival's unmatched and much-too-cool-and-hip ways.

Neji didn't like the revelations he had heard, and vowed to keep an eye on them. He, like so many other's, had no trust for things he could not understand, and so he vowed that if they worked for the detriment of Konoha- their noble-sounding words aside- he would erase their legacy from history. After all, it was his fate.

Lee was just as shocked as the rest, his mind unable to really deal with the revelations he had experienced. He knew his master respected Kakashi-sensei a lot, and so decided to withhold judgment until he really got to know them better.

Tenten's reaction was mixed. On the one hand, she was interested in this demonification process, even if it was just a spectators curiosity. On the other, she was now the suddenly-not-so-proud bearer of one of these devil weapons that was the catalyst of the change.

She contemplated throwing it away, but then her other half reared it's head. The part of her that wanted to get to know the strange boy better, her instinctive half, made her embrace these things, these changes that would happen to her if she kept the Kris. Wrapping her hands tightly around the blade, despite the fat that she was focused inward, she did not miss the fact that her newest weapon pulsed with power in her determined grip.

Meanwhile, in Konoha, Sarutobi was doing paperwork… still. He'd been at the daunting task for over half the day, and he was nearly finished. He decided that he had earned a break, and decided that overlooking the shinobi village that he was entrusted with while smoking his pipe was a good reward for his studious and dedicated work.

He was just about to follow through with his plan when someone entered his office. While this was not an unusual occurrence, the way they entered, or more accurately appeared, in his office was. One moment he was alone, filling his pipe, the next there was two people there, one of them obscured by a dark shroud. The other was one he was very familiar with indeed, having trained her for many years.

"Tsunade! What brings you here?" he asked one of his old students, taking in her new appearance. She looked unchanged physically, thanks to the illusion she wore, but it was her clothing and gear that had changed greatly. She was dressed in a hakama and short kimono, the clothes both silver with traces of blue in them. She was also wearing a cloak that reminded him eerily of Naruto's own, the color aside. Her cloak was seemingly spun of liquid light, flowing and weaving in it's own breeze.

The final thing that caught his attention was her weapon. It was a Naginata spear, the shaft looking like it was made of thousand-year wood, wood that was incomparable for making staves and spear-shafts. The blade was made of some type of crystal, so it reflected the light off of it.

"Hello, Master Sarutobi. It's been a while, hasn't it," she asked him rhetorically. "I've returned as part of the prophecy. Four of the Eight are awakening, and me of course. There are still three to find."

He blinked. He was aware of the prophecy, but he had never shared it with anyone, lest he give away his own secret in the process. So how had Tsunade heard of it?

"Master Sarutobi, it has been brought to my attention that you know who the Harbinger is. Tell me, who is he and how powerful has he grown?"

"(sigh) Tsunade, sit, please. I will tell you all that you desire to know about the Harbinger, and what has led up to this."

Tsunade sat down gracefully, wondering how she was going to react to the news that she was going to receive.

Back in the camp, Naruto was thinking fast. He was one of four people that was going to become a demon, five if he counted Tenten. He wondered why this type of thing seemed to always happen to him. He had tried for years to avoid the stigma that was his burden, and now he was assuming it's mantle. Typical of his luck.

His team was surprisingly accepting of the news, all in all. They had asked him some more questions about the apotheosis that he and they were to undergo, and what they would become. Naruto had told them that their elements would correspond to their weapons elements, in other words Kakashi was lightning, Kiba was fire and Shino was earth.

Naruto was an exception to that rule because he had so many weapons of various types and elements. He was becoming a shadow demon, but he wasn't entirely sure why. Still, he figured that he would do his level best to make the most of the situation. That was what he was best at, anyway.

Tomorrow they would return to Konoha, making all speed, eager to report this to the Hokage and get his advice on the matter. In the meantime, all that Naruto could do for now was to sleep, hoping to make the night go faster.

So that was what he did.

A/N: well, here's the next issue of Forgemaster. If I hadn't made things clear before, unfortunately, Naruto will not be gaining the Lucifer Devil Arm from the much-vaunted (and seriously fun) DMC4. He is able to forge these weapons himself, but he has to be able to visualize them, and he has no idea that something like that exists or could exist. Sorry. Although I will admit that it is a very good weapon.


End file.
